An Unlikely Partnership
by Youkomon
Summary: Rika chooses Icedevimon to be her partner leaving a bitter Renamon to become Takato's partner...[Probably never to be updated again. I'm sorry. Dammit. There's a long-winded and possibly quite cowardly apology note now placed at the very end of the last chapter, in case anyone really wants to know the details.]
1. A bitter mermory

This is a really strange idea that occurred to me. What if Takato and Renamon were partners and Icedevimon was Rika's? I starting writing and was fairly pleased with the results…

Oh, and sorry all you Guilmon fans but he doesn't appear in this story at all. I haven't got anything against the sweet critter ( in fact he's one of my favourate characters) but as I wrote this I realised it wasn't going to work if he existed.

Mute: I don't, he's too goody-goody. Gah! It's pathic…

Me: WHAT? DON'T YOU DARE DIS GUILMON! I'LL KILL YOU!

Mute: (Evil grin) You don't own Digimon…

Me: Sob…you mean!

***************

Millions of gleaming gemstones produced by electricity sparkled all over the ever changing landscape of buildings. In a city covered by shadows light still prevailed. And in more ways than one. For in such a large city many people often face dangerous and often traumatising situations. And that is when the light in their hearts shone through giving them courage and the strength to carry on with life.

Perhaps the heart of one young boy shone with this light brighter than the rest of them; Takato Matsuda. The boy in question was at this moment in time scribbling on a piece of paper doing his 'homework'. He sat up straight suddenly (almost falling of the chair in the process) with a loud cry of "Finished". He looked down at the masterpiece with a great deal of childish pride.

"So this is the third one hmm?"

The owner of the voice observed the brown-haired boy as he picked up the red D-Power he had received that morning. His brow was furrowed in deep thought as he studied it, before dropping it carelessly onto the desk to rummage through his collection of Digimon cards. The spy flinched at the loud clatter of D-Power meeting wood, wrinkling her nose up in disgust.

"Such carelessness! How could such an immature child be destined for the role of a Digimon Tamer? Although…" 

Ice blue eyes softened slightly as she saw her subject giggle happily as he started filling in his drawing with vibrant blues, reds and greens.

"…he is so unlike the strongest of the three. She is the perfect merciless warrior while he has a heart beating with compassion. She is a skilled card player, the best in fact, while he is not. Such power and strength she could have offered me! But another with an even more icy disposition than her claimed that power for himself!"

Powerful muscles rippled under the golden fur threateningly as a three-digited paw drew itself together as a fist at the memory.

Flashback*******

"I can't tame all of you!"

The terrified cry of a young girl cut through the air like a knife causing pity to stir in the golden-furred digimon.

"I just want one strong digimon!" yelled the Digimon Queen beads of sweat lining her forehead. She was backed up against the wall and had no where to go if things turned ugly. Her violet eyes had widened as the many claws, paws and wings reached out her. 

Hearing this latest remark the digimon strode purposefully up to the window separating her from the real world and the chance to become one of the most powerful digimon that ever lived. But before her dream could become a reality, a huge, white hand lunged out of nowhere and seized her around the mid-section. She was frightened at being in the grasp of such an experienced champion and struggled to disclose it from him.

"Unhand me Icedevimon!" she demanded coolly. He retaliated with a sadistic grin.

"Do you honestly think a tamer of her talent would ever want a rookie like you to be her partner? You are a delusional fool!" the demon whispered emotionlessly. Then to rub salt into the wound his leering face lowered itself down to the level of her ear before hissing maliciously, "besides you could never hope to have as strong a bond as I will have with little Rika. Her icy heart will help both of us achieve greatness. Both of us share the same principles; we understand that it is weak to show emotions and be warm-hearted. In order to be strong you must hate and destroy others with no remorse deleting all other emotions that could affect your judgement. Something that you obviously fail to comprehend. You still hold on to the old-fashioned belief that it is friendship between digimon and tamer that will enable you to digivolve. Pah! You are wrong."

She was released and thrust away from her tormentor at lightening speed. 

Sumasalting, she landed neatly on her two hind limbs and spun around to see that Icedevimon had forced himself to the front of the other power-hungery Digimon and had enganed in a rapid coversation with **_her_** tamer. At once panic swept over her for if that icy freak became Rika's partner he would manipulate her so that the psychological damage already done to her would be irreversible. One miserable girl growing up into a broken-hearted women…

"Yes, I will be your tamer."

The clear voice rang through the air resounding in the her ears. Icedevimon flashed a triumphant smirk over his shoulder before disappearing on their side of the window and materialising on the other, placing one bony hand on his new tamer's shoulder. There was an erruption of bright white light and she and the rest of her gormless companions were left staring at nothing.

She was not aware of their mutters or disappointed grunts; nor were they paying any heed to the rookie whose pearl-drop tears were running silently down her cheeks.

"Rika…I'm sorry…"

End Flashback*******

Eyes and heart hardened again, the Digimon glared at the human, viewing him in a window similar to the one Rika had appeared in. Only for some strange reason unknown to her he could not see the window while Rika most certainly could. Another factor to prove his unsuitability as a tamer. Rika was unique. Takato was not. He could never offer her what she so badly desired.

She narrowed her eyes against the harsh sunlight in the Digital World constasting the pale moonlight in the Real World. Then she set off towards a rocky outcrop, bounding gracefully over the sandy dunes. Trying to leave the window and the boy far behind.


	2. A change of heart

Wow, I'm actually becoming quite pleased with this story and the way it is turning out.

Renamon:…

Me: Hmm? Renamon what are you doing here, you're supposed to be in the story!

Renamon: Why have you let Rika choose Icedevimon over me?

Me: Because he's so much more cooler than you! Ha,ha…get it? Cool and ice?

Renamon: Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here, right now…

Mute: Because I'm in charge of the delete button! And besides torturing the authoress is a privilege reserved for me and me alone!

Me: Hang on a minute Mute this is my laptop so all the buttons on it belong to me! And show me some respect! You are my creation and I gave you life!

Mute: ..That would explain why my life sucks so much…

Renamon: Ahem. Neither of these two own Digimon. Some rich guy in Japan does.

Me: Why does everybody like to rub that in so much?

***************

"Avalanche claw!"

With a final shriek, the Lynxmon shattered into shards of data which was then hungrily collected by a ghostly white monster.

Rika smiled as unfeeling as always. When she watched her Digimon fight it was as though she could temporarily drive away the unending loneliness inside. But it would always catch up to her at night. How many times had she cried herself to sleep, burring her face in the pillow in the hope it could magically drown the simmering misery inside her?

A sudden breeze whipped around her slender frame. Rika shivered and drew her trench coat around defensively. At once she felt a pair of arms, one unnaturally longer than the other and defiantly not human, encircle her. Rika shuddered again. And it had nothing to do with the change in temperature.

"Are you cold my dear?" the demon whispered seductively, his face hovering mere inches from her own.

"Never!" his tamer replied harshly a spark of her defiance leaping into her eyes. 

Icedevimon tightened his grip another further precise notch, smirking slightly to himself as he heard the young girl's laboured breathing. His fingers caressed her smooth chin flicking away a strand of stray hair, while the other came to rest over her chest. Fascinated, he felt her heart beating wildly with fear, zest and something else he could not identify. Scowling, he questioned his memory, looking for a name for the unfamiliar emotion. His memory informed him it could not as he had never felt it before. This caused his scowl to deepen further as this was not the first time he had sensed Rika feeling like this. For some reason he was bothered by the fact that his tamer was unhappy. And Icedevimon didn't like being bothered. No, he liked to feel in control of the situation at all times.

While Icedevimon was contemplating Rika's feelings, the adolescent was mentally kicking herself. How could she have let the situation get so out of control? She was the tamer and he was just some computer program that went around defeating other computer programs for her own personal satisfaction. It was all just a game anyway, a game that she was good at and a game Icedevimon was helping her to win. He was nothing without her and the cards. **_So why was he making her feel this way? _**

Rika shook her head angrily. She didn't feel! She didn't need to! All she needed was herself, the cards and the ability to keep the title 'Digimon Queen'.

Icedevimon was startled when the teenager tried to break away from his restraining arms. Looking down he saw her face contorted and locked in an icy rage. For some unknown reason Icedevimon felt fear stab him. But it wasn't of Rika despite how terrifying she looked at the moment. At any rate she could never hurt him; why he could quite easily snap her fragile neck in less than a second. No, what Icedevimon was feeling was fear for the young girl struggling in his arms. Fear that she would hurt herself, trying to escape from his strange embrace in the state she was in.

Rika blinked, her fury rapidly vanishing as she felt empty air where there had previously been solid arms supporting her. Gravity took over and her body fell forward, plunging towards the concrete. Gravity failed though, when an arm whipped out and grabbed her, pulling her back onto her feet.

The owner of the arm watched her, as his arm returned to his side and she spun round to meet his unwavering gaze. A few moments passed while the two stared at each other each puzzling over the fallen angel's actions. Then the female tore her eyes away from that bloodshot gaze and walked off at a brusque pace towards her home. The male watched her for a moment before gradually fading away into thin air.

And the whole time they had been there, neither had noticed the wide-eyed, pyjama-clad boy hovering above the street and witnessing all that had passed.

****************

Takato woke up in his sweat-drenched sheets, gasping. His eyes roamed the room reassuring himself that everything in the room was how it should be, before his brain calmed down and he started to replay the dream in his mind. He had admired the girl for keeping a cool head when face to face with a roaring tiger, the body swamped with flames, not to mention her efficiently when it came to battling. But…at the end…she had seemed to be fighting an inner conflict with herself while being held in the arms of her digimon. The pain in her eyes was evident and she had been visibly trembling.

The Digimon had seemed cold and calculating, delighting in absorbing the data of another of his kind with an almost maniac grin on his face as he did so.

Takato looked down at the D-Power in his hand and trembled. If to be a Digimon tamer meant to be in an emotional turmoil with yourself and in charge of an insane partner, he wasn't so sure he wanted to be anymore.

*****************

Renamon frowned as she watched the trembling boy in the window before her. That dream he had just had was on ordinary dream, she could tell. Could he be psychic? Could he have witnessed some apocalypse event from the future? Is that why he was chosen to be a tamer?

Renamon shook her head. Look at her, observing a scared young human, a human she had decided to forget. And yet…she had come back. She had gone back on her mental vow to forget the boy and returned to the window. Why? Surely she had a stronger will than this!

Renamon resumed her observation of the boy. He was trembling, staring at the D-Power as though it might explode. An image flashed in the vulpine mind of a young girl shaking before a crowd of Digimon who were all reaching out for her. Okay, so maybe Takato wasn't facing a mass of power-hungry Digimon, but by studying his face Renamon could see that he was just as scared of her kind as Rika had been.

A mixture of pity and sorrow arose in Renamon's chest, bubbling in her lungs. Was she really going to stand by and let a child suffer in fear of his destiny? Was she going to allow some twisted Digimon to become Takato's partner and rob him of his humanity like she had allowed Icedevimon to do so to Rika?

A strange light danced in Renamon's eyes as her soul overflowed with grim determination. She was a Digimon on a mission and the Sovereign help anyone who got in her way!

Renamon delicately stepped through the window and breached the boundary separating the two worlds, her body taut and prepared for anything. Ahead she could see Takato's D-Power glowing faintly as though welcoming her. Feeling reassured, Renamon completed the journey.

In the Digital World there was a blinding flash of light. Then silence. A leaf fluttered down through the window-less air to the unoccupied ground. 


	3. Bonding

First and foremost, thank you to all those wonderful people who devoted a few minutes of their precious, precious time to reading and reviewing my stories! You all rock!

Hmm...I got a question from BloodyKitsune…

Mute: Two actually…

Me: Don't contradict me! Okay I was questioned about the fate of Sakuyamon and Megidramon (prays she spelt the names right!). Since these events don't happen until much later on in the season I wasn't going to worry about them until later. But since you asked…

Mute:(snigger) She doesn't have an answer!

Me: Do you?

Mute…

Me: Thought not…

Mute: Yeah, but I don't write the story so I don't have to come up with one! That means I can watch you squirm…

Me: Actually I do have an answer. I was going to get some alternative method of getting Renamon to her mega form and as for Megidramon…he was created out of Takato's anger right? So I replace him with Kuzuhamon also born out of Takato's rage!( This Digimon is a darker form of Sakuyamon. Go to and go to the digidex in the menu on the left side for more information) Or I might do something completely different! Depends on where the story goes.

Mute: In the dustbin?

Me: (fake smile) I don't own Digimon.

Mute: Surprise, surprise…

*******************

"Huh?"

The short, simple statement was uttered by a brown-haired boy who had recently become aware of the fact that the D-power in his hand had began to glow dimly. His eyes widened; an action that was becoming more common by the day.

He held the alien gizmo at arm's length, praying that the strange contraption wouldn't blow up in his face. He didn't fancy going through life eyebrow less. It was then that he became aware of a blinding light seeping into the corner of his vision. It was rectangular shaped and spanned the entire length of the bedroom wall opposite him. However the truly terrifying thing about it was that there was a shadowy silhouette occupying the centre of the box. It stared at him for a few seconds with luminous blue eyes before walking majestically towards him, the shape of the body becoming more and more solid as it did so.

Takato attempted to stand up and run but his successfully paralysed legs folded underneath him reducing him to a quivering kneeling position on the floor. His finger loosened and the D-Power slipped out of the sweaty restraint of flesh and blood and clashed with the floor. A soft thud echoed around the room at the exact moment the apparition stepped out of the window and became a part of reality.

There was a sudden rush of white hot light and Takato's primitive instincts took over. Neck joints snapped round as he thrust his head from the source of irritation, eyes jammed shut and arms coming together in front of himself to form a weak shield. Eventually the burning in his eyelids stopped, signifying that the box and the horrible light it had produced were gone. Yet the hair on the back of his neck slated upwards for one straightforward reason; he could hear the subtle breaths of some other living thing in the room apart from himself. 

Silence hung thick and heavy on the atmosphere, damping the boy's morale even further while increasing his fear. It was fortunate then, that the living, breathing statue before him decided to 'break the ice' so to speak.

"Well?" a smooth voice dipped in wisdom ventured, "Am I really that ugly? Or do you define beauty as those scruffy trainers of yours? Hardly surprising. I find most males to have bad taste in style…"

Takato finally unglued his arms and dropped them to his side. The next step was to actually face the creature and open his eyes. The whole process took ten minutes.

He then took time to take in the Digimon before him. She clearly resembled a fox (the big, bushy tail and pointy ears being a dead giveaway) though her shape was more humanoid than animal-like. Powerful muscles coiled beneath the short, silky fur of yellow and white and the spiky mass of fur that covered her chest and a portion of her back rose and fell gently with each breath. Black claws gleamed eerily on each digit of each paw and long purple gloves with ying-yang symbols on each adorned her arms. And the face…well the face was impassive cleverly masking any emotions that might have dwelled there. But the thing that caught Takato's attention and held it there, fixated, were her eyes. Those eyes that seemed to tear through him radiating with intelligence and knowledge.

Renamon noticed the admiration in his facial expression and smiled serenely to herself. Well that was an unexpected reaction now, wasn't it?

Although she had to admit waiting around for over ten minutes for him to get over his fear was incredibly frustrating. But she clenched her jaw together tightly in order to control her anger. Releasing it while still in the presence of a stunned and slightly traumatised Takato was **_not_** a good idea.

Meanwhile the teenager was frantically searching his head for a label to attach to the kitsune. He was certain it began with an 'R'.

"Are you Re-re-ren-", he stuttered, cringing at how stupid he must sound. 

"Re_Na_Mon", the Digimon sighed, letting each syllable linger on her tongue. 

"Oh, right. Heh. Sorry. Umm….you aren't going to hurt me are you?"

"Of course not! I despise creatures who prey on those weaker than themselves! I would never harm a human!"

"Oh good…Hey wait a minute, I'm not weak!"

Renamon sniggered. A paw causally flashed out and flicked Takato's chest gently. The force of this resulted in a surprised boy lying sprawled out on his bed. The fallen boy raised his head to glare at the intruder who was chortling quietly to herself.

"Hey! What did you do that for?!?"

Renamon choked back her humour and refocused her attention on her new tamer. Fire was starting to ignite in his eyes and she caught a glimpse of the courageous spirit within that had been lying dormant for so many years, having never been called upon or needed before. She smiled.

"Takato when I implied you were weak, I meant physically, something that all humans are. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. We are what we are. But I mentioned nothing of your strength spiritually, mentally or emotionally. In that aspect I say you are strong. Indeed many humans older than you would have handled the situation of facing me a lot worse than you have. And I both admire and thank you for that. You have a great strength of character. And it is that, Takato, which makes us strong."

A gaping hole had replaced the spot where Takato's mouth used to be.

"Perhaps I subconsciously recognised it when I first saw you and that is why I decided to become your partner", Renamon remarked playfully.

"A Digimon Tamer? Me? Wow!"

A wide grin stretched over the young boy's face before he dived towards one of many boxes littering the floor and immersed himself in the contents, murmuring to himself "where is it, where is it?"

Renamon watched this new development with surprise, her eyes tracing his hurried movements.

"Here it is!" he announced triumphantly straightening up from amongst the rubble. His hand was wrapped tightly around something that seemed to glint whenever it caught the moonlight. He spun round slipping the object over his head so that it came to rest on his hair.

"What do you think, pretty cool, huh?"

Renamon face faulted as Takato struck some sort of ridiculous pose, the new goggles perched on his head.

"Err…."

"I know, I know, I was lost for words to, when I fished them out of the trash can next-door! Can you believe it, a perfectly good pair of goggles and someone was going to throw them away!"

"Umm Takato, are you sure you're not scared of me anymore?" Renamon inquired, trying to change the subject.

Takato snapped out of his pose to consider the question carefully.

"Yes, I'm sure Renamon. I guess I was so scared of you because of this dream I had…"

"Yes?" Renamon encouraged him, sensing he wanted to talk.

"…Well there was this Digimon Tamer and she and her partner defeated this other Digimon. Her Digimon was kinda white, tall and scary-looking…like a demon. And after the battle he hugged her…and she looked so scared and lost and alone…and I guess I figured that being a Digimon tamer would mean I would end up like her…miserable…Renamon? Renamon! What's the matter? Snap out of it Renamon!"

Takato had noticed that Renamon had gone into some sort of trance as he had been describing the dream. What scared him was the fact that there a look of intense sorrow in her eyes; the only part of her that betrayed emotion. He tried to take hold of her shoulders and shake them but it had no effect. Besides it was rather hard to pull her out of dreamland while he was standing on tiptoes; Renamon easily towered over him.

"Rika…"

"Renamon! Who's Rika?" 

"Rika…I'm so sorry…"

"Renamon please! You're scaring me!"

At these words Renamon instantly snapped out of her trance and looked at Takato. His eyes were wavering with the threat of unshed tears and Renamon mentally scolded herself. She was doing the one thing she had vowed not to do! She was frightening her tamer and hurting him emotionally!

"I'm sorry…" she whispered smiling weakly, "I guess you still fear me after all…"

"No! That's just what I was about to tell you! When you came in here you didn't act like that girl's Digimon at all! You had a normal conversation with me just like you were an ordinary kid like me! You proved that not all Digimon are monsters by just being yourself!"

Renamon looked at her tamer with a mixture of awe and respect. Surprised at the words spilling out of his mouth and glad that he felt that way. How could she have ever thought him weak? He had just made a mature and truthful point that far suppressed all her earlier expectations of him.

Takato turned the colour of a sun-burnt chameleon and gazed at the floor, embarrassed at his sudden outburst. A paw rested itself on his shoulder, and he looked up to see his partner looking at him, joy lighting up her features like a beacon.

"Thank you my Tamer…I needed to hear that…" 


	4. Rika's Dress

Wow. Reviews. Wow. Reviews. Wow. Rev-

Mute: Snap out of it!!!

Me: Sorry…must…refrain…from…gazing…at…reviews…must…write…story…

Mute: What she's trying to say in thank you to all the wondrous human beings who reviewed. She's eternally grateful.

Me: Yes indeed. Okay since the last chapter focused on just Renamon and Takato this one's gonna look more closely at Rika and Icedevimon, though the strange bond between Rika and her mother is going to come into play too and-

Mute: Hold yer horses dearie, ya got questions…

Me: Ahhh! Thanks for reminding me!…what's up with the accent…

Mute: It's called having fun…

Me: Ohhhh…right, questions! Let's see…basically you want to know about bio-merging evolutions…

Mute: And the romance, don't forget the romance!

Me: Right, Renamon will not turn into Megidramon and I did some research to find out who Gulfmon was…got really freaked out by the picture…and thought maybe…Decided on Rika's and Icy's bio-merged form (but I am not telling you who it is!). What about romance? At first I was thinking one between the goggle boy and the kitsune but of course some people might get majorily upset…oh dear. Love's a very delicate subject, isn't it? Well nothing's definite yet so anything could happen!

Mute: What about Takato's bio-mersion with Renamon?

Me:………..Damn…..

Mute: What about Valkyrimon?

Me: Oh yeah, like that would go down well…

**************

Rika held the dress up against her body, surveying the view in her mirror thoughtfully. The moonlight danced over the white linen and the many frills that the garment possessed, making it shine with a silver tint as though it had a life of its own. It was a little creased though and Rika's battle-trained eyes spotted this immediately. Frowning slightly her slender fingers caressed the abused material, smoothing it over in a few rippling motions. Her next act was to sigh deeply and bury her head into the silky fabric; there she inhaled exotic spices, lively, vibrant, exciting scents. A harsh contrast to the calm, docile-looking dress.

Rika raised her head to gaze back at the purple orbs staring distractedly back at her in the mirror's pale glass. True, the dress was beautiful; but beautiful things could also be deadly.

With a snort of contempt, Rika carelessly tossed the dress to the floor and was about to purposely tread it into the ground when she hesitated. Unlike the countless other dresses her mother had given her in order to make her 'more like a girl' this one was special. Instead of being another expensive, designer label product, specially imported from Paris her mother had actually made this by hand. Rika could remember the last two strange weeks when her mother had practically barricaded herself in her room, locking the door and refusing to work overtime at the studio. Indeed they had even run up after her, demanding her presence. For all fourteen times it had been Rika answering the phone and telling them bluntly to f*** off. This had made Rika very annoyed at her mother. She had better things to do with her time than be her personal sectary!

It had only been yesterday that Rika had finally lost her cool when the studio had rung up again. She had let an angry scream of frustration and rage causing the poor soul at the other end to lose 70% of their hearing and hang up. Needless to say her mother had burst out of the bedroom in a panic, thinking that some slave traders had captured her little girl and were planning to despatch her to Africa. Instead she was greeted by a young, thin hand flashing towards her cheek at incredible speed.

SLAP! 

The model gasped in shock as a stinging sensation nestled itself into the place where the hand had made contact. But before she could collect her wits, the wailing banshee attacked her again…and again…and again…

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! 

It was only when the blonde woman attempted to fend off the wildcat with her hands that the assault stopped. Tears staining her inflamed cheeks Mrs Nonaka looked at her headstrong daughter who was staring, not at her face, but at her hands. And even as the older of the two shifted her gaze down to the objects that the younger was focusing on she already knew why.

The hands were smothered in bandages, wound tightly round and round the palms. Blood was running through the seams and plasters decorated the fingers at various intervals.

"How?"

A thin-lipped smile graced the slapped face. A hand fumbled around in a pocket before producing a needle and twirling it artistically between two undamaged, limber fingers.

"With this. My grip kept slipping while I was…working. Although I had to use a fairly sharp knife in order to cut the material down to size…"

Mother's hand gripped daughter's wrist before dragging her to the bedroom and flinging the door wide open. And there, spread out in all its glory was the dress…and now it lay in a crumpled heap on the bedroom floor of its owner…

The expression in Rika's eyes softened slightly as she bent down to retrieve the dress from its undignified place on the floor. She hated feminine clothing like this, yes, but all the effort her mother had put into making the dress struck a chord within her heart. The fact that her mother had slaved for a fortnight on this though when she was usually such a selfish person had Rika wondering. Was her mother hiding something from her?

Flashback**********

"Rika!"

The urgency in the blonde's voice made Rika snap her head up. Rumiko's eyes had an alarmed and desperate sort look to them and Rika felt worry flood her. She immediately tried to quell the feeling rising within her heart. How could she possibly feel anything for such a bimbo who made a living out of flaunting her body and pursing her lips? God, she worshipped that damn camera, cared for her looks more than she cared for anything else!

Yet deep down, Rika knew that she loved her mother. The world is a confusing place and works in mysterious ways; we can't choose our parents and they can't choose us. But despite the arguments and personality clashes we still love them all the same. And Rika was not immune to this rule. Why should Mother Nature bypass one single girl?

"Rika please take the dress. Think of it as an apology for not being there for you when I should have…"

**_'No, no, no! Stop it please! I don't want to be weak! Stop making me feel weak! I'm strong, I'm the Digimon Queen! I hate you, I hate you! It's too late! I don't want to be you, mom! I want to be ME!' _**

Rika thoughts were jumbled but they froze as they reached the one simple conclusion Rika had been aiming for her whole life.

"I want to be me", she whispered.

"And you can be, you **_will_** be. But I want you to take this dress to remember me, even if I am not near…"

Rika grabbed the dress and turned to go. Then she paused.

"You're never near, mom, which is why I'm going to take your silly dress!"

Rika fingernails dug into her palm deeply in the already tightly-clenched hand. Very deeply.

The troubled teenager left the room in a stormy silence.

On the floor glistened a few drops of cerulean blood. And they didn't belong to the human wearing bandages…

End Flashback***********

Rika dropped the cherished garment to the floor, understanding dawning in her eyes. It wasn't her mother who was deceiving her. It was herself!

Pearly-white fingernails harshly bit into the skin again as the girl's form shook violently like a helpless autumn leaf caught in a fierce gust of wind.

"I just want to be me…"

Her head rocked onto her waiting, raised palms in an action of despair.

"...but I don't even know who I am…"

"I know who you are, angel."

**_'Angel?!?'_**

Rika viewed the newcomer with disbelief.

"Trust me, snowman, I'm no angel."

"Compared to me you are", he stated quietly.

Silence. Icedevimon hated silence. It made him feel like he was losing control. He unfurled his wings in an attempt to rid the murky atmosphere of it. The slight rustling caused Rika to narrow her eyes.

"Alright then, who am I?" she challenged, her voice settling heavily on the air, compressing it into submission. Unfortunately the one who the challenge was directed at was not one to be easily cowed.

"You are the strongest tamer with the most powerful Digimon", he commented airily, watching her expression carefully for any unforeseen reactions. Though he would never admit it, last night had scared in a way he could not explain. It was the first time he had ever felt compassion for another living creature. And that terrified him more than the prospect of facing a mega level Digimon who could delete him with ease. Which was wrong. Very wrong. Digimon existed purely for battling purposes and becoming more powerful. So why on earth was there a little voice inside his head telling him that perhaps there was more to life than that craving for strength that had been with him since the day he had first come into being?

Unaware of the inner turmoil taking place inside the Digimon's head, the teenager felt heated anger coursing through her skull. How dare he patronise her with the obvious! He had merely told her what she was not who she was! An entirely different concept altogether! What a blockhead!

Cold fire smouldering in her eyes, the Digimon queen opened her mouth to make a heated retort when she was checked by a torrent of beeping being emitted by her D-Power.

"Another one! Good, I've wanted to burn off some calories since I ate Mom's rock-and-broccoli stew…urgh, such health hazards wouldn't exist if grandma was here. Why did she want to go on vacation anyway? What's so great about Kenya? Nothing but stupid giraffes and boring elephants!" 

Rika chattered to Icedevimon aimlessly as she snatched a few modify cards off the table and pocketed her sunglasses. Then she burst out of the house in a flurry of passion and excitement, the fallen angel following in her wake.

"Well then, my dear, it's a good job, indeed that I'm not a giraffe or an elephant, now is it?" he murmured to himself as he glided above her, using the air currents to defy gravity.

"Or even a fox…"

*****************

Renamon sprang to the window sensing a bio-merging and leaving a sleeping Takato to rouse himself from his slumber. A short hiss escaped from the barrier of teeth lining her mouth.

"Renamon, what is it?" asked the sleepy boy rubbing his eyes with the back of his pyjama sleeve.

"A wild one has bio-merged" came her fluent reply.

"Huh?"

"You remember your dream?"

Her audience nodded, listening intently. The speech-giver sighed.

"Well…" she started, preparing to explain the work Digimon and tamer are expected to do.

******************

Rika smirked, a self-satisfied one, as her partner absorbed the data of the losing Digimon. It had been a rookie for goodness sake! Hardly a struggle…

"I hope there will be more of a challenge next time…" 

"Relax, snowman, there will be plenty more fights to come and we'll be ready and waiting for them when they arrive!"

"And then one day I will finally reach my ultimate form…and become truly unbeatable…"

At this statement, Rika's head whipped up as a new thought occurred to her.

**_'When you do become…'unbeatable'…will you leave? I've become accustomed to your company…of course you'll leave…everybody else has…even my mother can't bear to spend too much time with me…'_**

And convincing herself that she really was unlovable, Rika walked away, away from her partner who watched her go…both trapped in their own thoughts…


	5. He's just data and she's a saviour

I managed to complete this chapter amidst birthday cake crumbs after hovering the living room and throwing away wrapping paper and squished chocolate. Ahh, the pleasures of tiding up after a younger sibling. Actually it wasn't that bad; I got some decent cocktail sausages and was allowed to select the music for pass-the-parcel.

Mute: Yeah, but now the Playstation2's broken…

Me: I know! It wouldn't play the darn DVD for the party! First the stupid thing got the film stuck in storyboard mode and then halfway through the movie it said "unable to read disc" and stopped functioning properly! Of course my sister's friends weren't too happy about that and I had to drag the laptop downstairs and play the film on that…

Mute: …and then magically, the film worked and there were no more hiccups…

Me: So when are we gonna fix the Playstation2?

Mute: I dunno, I'm not real remember? What are you asking me for?

Me: …helpful…anyway, I finally completed the chapter and I apologise in advance if Rika seems a bit…weak-willed or stupid in here. I needed to lower her defences down a bit so that-

Mute: Tell them the whole story why don't you!

Me: Fine then, I'll go on to answer a few questions…Takato will not bio-merge to become Sakuyamon because that would be very weird…Sakuymon is an official Rika and Renamon thing…I saw a picture of Anubismon and fell in love with it! It's so cooooool! I don't think it is one of Renamon's mega forms but I think it's perfect for the job! 

Mute: Better than Valkyrimon at any rate…

Me: and last but by no means least thank you, thank you, thank you to all the fantastic people who reviewed! I never believed I'd get this many!

Mute: You've forgotten something…

Me: Hmm? Oh right, I don't own Digimon except perhaps in a parallel universe…

****************** 

The echoing tread of footsteps vibrated the air molecules and produced sound waves, as a young girl ran down the street. Crystalline tears flecked her eyelashes and cascaded down her cheeks as her emotions raged within her, unable to cover the huge void within her. That void was called loneliness; an emotion we have all encountered at some point in our lives. The feeling of being totally alone in the world and the illusion that nobody cares…well now Rika had fallen prey to these terrible thoughts. A very dangerous thing to do when one is alone. 

Of course the heavens then decided that now was the appropriate time to open up and drench the downcast teenager in rain. A very thoughtful action that decreased her spirits even more. Cursing the rain, the volatile human lengthened her steps. Perhaps if she kept running fast enough she would leave the feeling behind.

***************

The early rays of sunshine poked through the curtains and tickled the youth's face teasingly, warming the healthy skin beneath their touch. 

Grumbling at the prospect of facing the hardship of school, the boy turned over, hiding his face in the pillow in a vain attempt to keep time at bay. Yet the sunlight was persistent and Takato finally submitted to rousing himself into the harsh world of reality. As he did so, vivid images floated into his half-awake mind of the night before. Being in his presence of mind, Takato temporarily thought it all a dream.

He chuckled to himself before reaching up to soothe his tangled locks of hair only to find a pair of goggles in the way. Instantaneously his face fell. How did those get there?

"Boy, I hope I didn't sleepwalk…"

Stretching, Takato quickly got dressed and bundled various creased textbooks into his school bag. 

"Wow, what a weird dream I had about Renamon…"

The air flickered in front of him and a shape appeared, unfurling itself and rose to its full height, holding itself regally.

"You called?" she inquired.

Takato backed away in alarm, clonking his head against the bedpost, which successfully woke him up and his sleepy memories. He groaned. How could he be so stupid! Renamon had warned him of this strange teleporting trick of hers, telling him that when he called for her she would be summoned to his side in a matter of seconds. And here he was abusing her charitable goodwill!

"Sorry…" he mumbled averting his eyes to the floor, "I was half-asleep and I called for you without thinking…"

He was silenced however when an outstretched paw offered itself to him, entering his line of vision. Understanding the offer, Takato raised his hand to hers, feeling the vulpine paw enclose his human hand in white velvety-soft digits. He was then gently pulled to his feet with ease.

"Thanks", he said a faint blush illuminating his features.

"You're welcome."

"Hey, do you want me to get you some food? I guess travelling between worlds takes a lot out of you huh? All I have to offer is bread though…"

Takato trailed off noticing that his partner's eyes were becoming watery.

"Oh no did I do something wrong?"

"No Takato…it's just that this is the first time anyone has ever offered me anything out of the pure goodness of their hearts…without asking for anything in return…"

"Oh…", was the immediate response from Takato. Well what else could one say to that statement? Directing his gaze to his sock-clothed feet he managed to mummer, "It's only bread…I'll only be able to smuggle out a few rolls…it's no big deal…"

"Allow me to recite an old saying: It's the thought that counts," retorted the kitsune, folding her arms and cocking her head to one side arrogantly, "now let's go and get that bread now, shall we? Breakfast helps retain concentration during a school day; and I am certainly not going to be held responsible for you collapsing in the classroom. I have no wish for you to get bad grades so I shall of course be willing to tutor and help you with your studies in the evening. Then of course we shall discuss strategies and card combos, practise, and battle any 'new arrivals' to this world."

The lithe form then glided over the carpet, out of the room and down the stairs to locate her promised breakfast.

"And here I was thinking that **_I_** was the tamer!" muttered Takato as he followed in a not-quite-so-graceful manner.

******************

Rika smiled as a little more of the unidentified liquid slipped down her throat. She wasn't quite sure what it was, all she knew was that her mum kept it in a bottle in a separate cupboard from the juice and mineral water and drank it on a daily basis after work. For some reason her grandma would often tut disapproval under her breath so only her observant granddaughter would notice. Personally Rika couldn't see what all the fuss was about… 

A large white hand shot out of thin air and forcefully ripped the bottle away her hands, propelling it towards the far wall. The force of it coming into contact with the solid surface, divided it into thousands of glass splinters.

Rika stared dumbly at her reflection in one of the shards before the familiar sense of fury invaded her mind and she spun round, snarling.

"What did you do that for! That was good stuff! You-", the Digimon Queen stopped and shivered.

Every inch of Icedevimon was burning with a vast aura of pure rage. And it wasn't the sort of rage she was used to experiencing from him. In battle he fought with a cold yet eager passion reeking with a twisted delight; there was no delight in the magnitude of heated anger he was emitting now.

"You fool! What_exactly_did you hope to achieve by this!?!" he hissed his tone seething with the fury he was feeling.

Rika quickly regained some of her composure and replied coldly, "What do you care? Nobody else does!"

At once the rage started to dwindle; she could feel it, and another emotion was etched on his face. She couldn't quite figure it out but for some reason, while he was standing half-portrayed in the shadows, he looked exactly like her father before he had left her life.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Well duh! Grandma's abandoned me for a bit of sight-seeing, Mom only cares about her work and made the dress because she felt a little guilty and you…well you only need me until you digivolve and become all powerful and then you'll walk out on me…because you won't need a tamer anymore…"

Scarlet eyes widened as they absorbed the mournful violet orbs that seemed to bore a hole into his soul…even though he wasn't meant to have one. Being a fallen angel usually implied the fact that you were evil and that in turn ruled out the possibly of having a heart and becoming emotionally attached to anyone. But then again he had never counted on being influenced by a confused and heart-broken young teen. Ironic really, that he considered himself so strong, only to find himself so concerned over the welfare of a creature weaker than himself.

Rika allowed herself to sink to the floor finding the overwhelming misery within her too much to handle. And she had no idea how to release it.

The ice demon took matters into his own hands and gently knelt down before her. He then carefully gathered her within her arms and held her against his chest, making sure he was not hurting his fragile cargo in the process. White, tattered wings curved around their forms, cocooning Rika off from the outside world so she could concentrate on unleashing her sadness.

Noisy cries of grief racked the slender body as she poured every emotion out; every bit of loneliness she held inside came tumbling out. And the taller just held her and listened as she wept bitterly. Never questioning. Never talking. Just silent.

At last she raised her tearstained face to stare at him. 

"But your just data", she whispered.

Icedevimon's sombre face betrayed an amused smile.

"In that case then," he retorted, "it won't matter if you show weakness to a computer program. Because I'm **_not real_**…"

*****************

Takato hummed to himself as he bounded down the sun-stroked path. He had survived a whole day of school and made a new friend who just so happened to be a tamer as well!

It had been lunchtime and Takato had discovered Henry secretly feeding his partner, Terriermon, sandwiches. Naturally Takato had hastened to explain that he was a tamer too and called for Renamon. At this point, Henry had stopped his protests (He's a voice activated toy! He's not a real Digimon!) and observed the golden kitsune with admiral, who in turn regarded him reservedly.

The two boys had hastily engaged in conversation resulting in Henry promising to teach Takato various things including card combos after school. The same, however, could not be said for their Digimon. Renamon had tolerated Terrier to a certain extent, pointedly ignoring him, the long-eared Digimon giving up his attempts to start a conversation when she gave him one of her infamous glares.

A sudden beeping sound startled Takato out of his memory as his fingers scrambled around for the source. They closed around the guilty culprit, a violently flashing D-Power and fished it out of it's hiding place. The young boy's immediate reaction was to dive into the nearby bushes and hiss Renamon's name under his breath.

A faint whooshing sound reached his ears and a figure materialised out of the shadows.

"A digital field? Yes… I can sense the wild one…"

"Umm…so I guess we go and fight now huh?"

"Indeed…"

With Renamon's last word ringing in his ears Takato took to his heels while the tall fox faded out of view, ready to reappear at the scene of the battle.

******************

"Terriermon!"

Henry's terrified cry resounded in the exhausted rabbit's head, as he slumped to the concrete floor under the heavy blows of the enraged Gorillamon. The same Gorillamon he had defeated in the computer game as Gargomon. But because of his Tamer's refusal to let him acquire that sort of power Terriermon was at a severe disadvantage. And now he was going to pay the ultimate price for it…

Henry watched from the sidelines in horror praying that his friend would make it through the onslaught of physical abuse.

"Renamon! Do something!"

Henry looked up at the sound of Takato's voice to see a yellow blur race across his vision and deliver a sharp kick between the armoured primate's shoulder blades. This caused Gorillamon to swing round, forgetting about Terriermon, as Renamon stood confidently in front of him, releasing a roar of rage.

Renamon's lips curled into a cold sneer and her muscles tensed.

"Monkey see, monkey do," she teased.

"I'm a gorilla, not a long-tailed flea bag!" howled her opponent, "Energy Cannon!"

Renamon's leg muscles came into play as she leapt into the air, easily dodging the ball of white energy exploding out of the gun on his right fore limb, coming down fast for the counter strike…which he blocked with a powerful punch leaving her reeling.

"Hang on Renamon! Guess this is where I come in…Digi-modify! Power activate!" called Takato as he inexpertly pulled a card through the slot on the side of his D-Power.

Renamon felt a rush of power spreading through her limbs and she jumped up crossing her arms.

"Diamond Storm!" she hollered untangling her arms as shards of pure energy appeared and bore down upon the enemy, battering him severalty but not enough to cause him to break apart into data.

"Energy Lifting!"

Renamon was slammed into the wall and fell into a temporary daze. Dimly she was aware of Gorillamon crowing over an injured Terriermon, nursed in his tamer's arms before Takato shouted at him. She couldn't make out what was said, exactly, but figured it was an insult as the bulky champion spun round angrily, letting off a blast from his gun. Renamon felt the blood freezing in her veins as it didn't take a genius to guess who the target was.

Takato was frozen too, his legs refusing to run as he watched the attack stream towards him. The next second, two gloved arms wrapped themselves around him and his saviour hurtled them both to the ground as the energy went soaring over their heads. The taller of the two then looked down at the boy she had pinned below her, checking for any injuries. Finding none she pulled them both to their feet.

"Are you alright?" she questioned.

"Yeah…thanks…nice save!"

The sound of a primitive snarl from the primate made them refocus their attention on Takato's attacker as he advanced upon them.

"Don't worry, I would never allow any harm to come to you!" declared Renamon, stepping in front of her tamer.

"You've already proved that!" grinned the brown-haired teen before fire leapt into his eyes and determination settled on his features. He drew out a card.

"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"

The vixen sped forwards to produce a volley of punches to Gorillamon's gut at incredible speed. Winding her adversary, she then created another diamond storm and finished off the Digimon, absorbing the particles of data in midair.

"Well done you two! Err… sorry but I'll have to cancel our meeting, Takato, I have to get Terriermon home."

"I understand Henry, I'm sure Terriermon will be fine. See you tomorrow, bye!"

Henry nodded, running off with his partner cradled in his arms.

"Well, that didn't go to badly for our first fight, Takato.."

"Apart from the part when Gorillamon tried to blast me!"

Renamon visibly shuddered at that recollection.

"True, but I'll do anything within my power to prevent such a thing happening again…"

She turned to face him, her eyes hard as the concrete beneath their feet.

"Anything…"


	6. Clash of the Titans

Is it just me or is each chapter getting longer than the last??

Mute: It's not you, it's your eyes. They show nothing but the truth.

Me:…Fine, oakey-dokey lets see…thank you to all people who were willing to part with a little more of their lifetime to read and review the story. It was not a waste of time and is much appreciated I assure you! Whever I get a review I am ecstatic with joy! My parents have to physically remove me from the ceiling each time. (Grin).

Mute: (looks at her in disgust) 'Oakey-dokey?!? Who_exactly_says that?

Me: Insane people like me… (Compares Renamon and Megidramon) how could Renamon evolve into that? She's not a virus she's data…

Mute: (sigh) Don't own Digimon never have done, never will. 

Me: If you reading this then I'm assuming you read the other chapters and have liked the story so far…

Mute: What do you think the reviews are for!

Me: Good point. Ohh, you've got me excited now! (Hugs a startled Mute)

Mute: Acck! Get **_it_** off me! Ribs breaking! Spine snapping!

Me: Since when did you have a backbone?

Mute: Oh, ha ha…

********************

Mid-morning. The city streets are bustling with activity as life forms move around, the dizzy circulation of life never ceasing. And not all of these life forms were human either. Nor were they part of the busy hives of insects roaming the litter bins or cracked paving tiles. No, these creatures were ones composed of computer and bearers of extraordinary power. And one was regarding the scene before her with a detached sort of interest. 

Renamon, one of the few Digimon to have come closely bonded with a human, sighed. The buzz of the city didn't enthral her in the slightest. She doing notice a small, purple being sneak alongside the trash cans towards her.

"Bada Boom!"

The vixen's head snapped round to the source of sound. Her eyes alerted her to the fact that she was directly in the path of a speeding fireball. A flurry of movement and she seemingly disappeared, leaving the flaming sphere to evaporate away in empty air. 

A fist belonging to the enraged Renamon, eagerly seeking retribution for the unprovoked attack, flashed down towards the smaller being. The only thing saving him from becoming floating data was his ready eyesight and his surprising agility.

"Nice moves, lady", he commented, once he was out of fist-smashing distance.

"You want a fight, you got one!" snarled Renamon preparing to bombard him with an onslaught of diamonds.

"Oh, not going to run off to your tamer for help?"

Renamon grabbed hold of her anger before it could manipulate her into doing something rash, withdrew her fighting pose and questioned quietly, "How do you know I have a tamer?"

"Easy! It was pretty hard to miss the fight with the deranged banana guzzler yesterday!" he replied, waving a red glove dismissively, "Name's Impmon and I'm here to give you some friendly advice, Digimon-to-Digimon. Ditch the human."

Renamon bristled, a dangerous gleam entering her eyes.

"What?"

If Impmon recognised the dangerous tone in her voice he ignored it, glancing at a sweet wrapper as though it held more interest to him than the visibly fuming vulpine in front of him.

"You heard me. Leave the brat, what do need him for? He's holding you back from reaching your full potent ional, he doesn't even know what his doing half the time! Humans are nothing but trouble, fox-face, he'll grow tired of you eventually and abandon you to chase after the next craze of toys or whatever."

Renamon's jaw bones caught her teeth in a vice-like grip as she slowly approached the offender like a lioness stalking a water buffalo.

"Takato is my partner; he treats me as though we are equals and has shown me nothing but kindness since we became acquainted. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in spirit and it is our bond that makes me strong not just my power and speed. You believe the key to victory is in brutal strength? You fool! I pity you as you obviously have no concept of the value of friendship. But I have and having tasted it I will do anything to hold onto the bond with my tamer. It will take more than petty words to distance myself from him."

With those words vibrated in the air Renamon causally flicked Impmon's nose before turning round and launching herself off the building and onto to the next one. She was going to find a quieter spot where she could ponder her thoughts without any further disturbances.

Impmon gazed open-mouthed after her for a few seconds before his cool attitude disappeared without a trace.

"Hey fox-face come back! I ain't done with you yet!"

******************

Rika absent mindedly flicked through the TV channels muttering insults at the world around her as she silently rejoiced at the thought of her classmates struggling through double history and God knows what else.

Tiring of jabbing various buttons on the control with her thumb she tossed it towards the lamp stand where a giant hand snuck through the air at lightening speed and seized it easily.

"Careful, I don't think your mother will be too pleased to find an item of furniture broken"

Rika shrugged, bored of the topic of conversation already.

"Let her scream all she wants. With any luck she'll pass out."

She turned round to give her companion a rare, uncharacteristic grin.

"Thanks for letting me stay off school." 

He snorted, adjusting his wings' slack position.

"You were in no fit state to attend this 'school' of which you speak of

…and why should you go today when you have more important matters to take care of…"

"Like?"

"Designing new combos, training me, practising your tamer skills and talking to me…"

"What there to talk about?"

"You."

The girl clutched the arm of the sofa tightly as though it were her only lifeline. Yet the coolness never left her voice and she never dropped the emotionless mask she wore every day.

"What about me?"

"…Everything…"

A long arm reached out for her. A few seconds later there was silence. The only life forms present were the newly-hatched batch of house spiders under the radiator. 

*****************

Takato was wandering below the dancing branches of the park trees feeling incredibly bored as a warm yet surprisingly strong breeze tugged at his hair and clothes as well as any brightly coloured wrappers scattered carelessly on the path.

That was of course until his D-Power assaulted his ears when it's high pitched 'beeping' sound.

Raising it up to eye level, Takato frowned. It wasn't acting the same as when a Digimon usually bio-merged. Judging by the image on the screen, it was as though a Digimon already in the real world had created something huge…

Shrugging, the boy ran off in the direction the D-Power pinpointed for him. If was a false alarm he didn't want to drag Renamon off from whatever it was she was doing for no reason. No, he would check it out himself first of all…

*****************

The girl stirred sleepily in the arms of her own personal 'guardian angel'. Although using the adjective angelic was certainly not applicable to describing him.

Violet eyes shot open furiously. How dare he grab her and teleport her to…

Rika jaw dropped as she surveyed her new surroundings. A carpet of ice graced the ground where there had once been wooden floor boards and pillars of ice shot up at regular intervals, forming artistic shapes that caught the beams of light travelling through the windows and split them into miniature rainbows circulating the room. Apart from the windows the rest of the room was covered in frozen water. Yes, at first glance one could say it was a white wasteland but if you took the time to observe every single detail you would see the pure beauty of it.

"Put me down." commanded Rika breaking the spell of silence, as the arms shifted slightly to grant her request.

"Well? Do you like it?"

Rika glanced up startled. His voice had a nervous tinge to it…but that couldn't be right could it? Since when was Icedevimon ever nervous?

"Did you make this?"

"Yes…but you didn't answer my question…"

A genuine smile graced her lips as a flicker of joy ran through Rika's eyes.

"Like it? Like it! I LOVE IT!"

Arms flying through the air, outstretched, Rika giggled as the little girl within her was awaked. She bounded between the ice formations and chased the streaming rainbows. She had been forced to grow up so quickly that she had forgotten the sheer enjoyment of the simplicity of childhood. But now the more tender, gentle side of her was being exposed to the world, having been unlocked by the white demon who looked on with a knowing smile. 

The moment was spoilt however when a slight gasp of surprise invaded their privacy and reached their eardrums.

The two spun round to the sight of a brown-haired boy crashing to the floor awkwardly. How he had burst through the frozen-over door was a mystery; physically he wasn't much to look at.

"What are you doing here goggle head?" Rika said coldly, her keen vision noting the goggles on his head and feeling rather disgusted. How could people be so impressionable and copy some role model like Tai or Davis off the television?

The boy looked up and his eyes widened.

"Oh, another tamer! Sorry, my D-Power went crazy and led me here. I thought I had better check it out…I'll leave now, sorry if I disturbed you…"

"Where's your Digimon?" asked Rika the distant yet familiar light shinning in her eyes at the prospect of battle.

"Renamon? I don't know, she'll turn up if I call her though."

"Renamon?!? What's she doing in this realm! Summon her at once!" snarled Icedevimon, flexing his taut muscles threatening and generally looking like he was about to embark upon a rampage.

"What! Why should I? I'm really sorry if I've done something to upset you?!?" called Takato, trying to unsuccessfully hide the quaver in his voice.

"There no need to holler at my tamer like that, I'm already here." stated Renamon calmly as she flowed out of the shadows and took up a protective stance in front of Takato.

"Renamon, what are you doing here?" questioned Takato anxiously.

"Do you honestly think I require the assistance of a machine to sense another Digimon? My senses are much more sensitive than human ones! Do did you truly believe I would let you face a Digimon alone, without any protection?" hissed Renamon, eyes rotating to meet his so that she would not have to alter her position in order to see him.

"Enough chit-chat! Time to fight!" yelled the hot-headed ice queen, developing a slightly arrogant posture.

On one side of the 'arena' stood a gentle, slightly naive soul, brimming with the warmth of compassion, a courageous heart of gold nestled within his chest. And directly opposite stood a warrior's with a nerve of pure steel with a will to match. In contrast to his warmth she sported an array of bitterness, loneliness and a heart churning with ice.

"Fight? What! But we-"

Takato's protests were cut off as both Digimon dived towards each other, fury deeply etched on each of their faces.

"Diamond Sto-"

"Avalanche Claw!"

"Arrgh!"

Before she had the chance to recover from the strong attack, Icedevimon was on her, hacking away at her unguarded body with gnarled hands, before spinning around to deliver a blow with his wing.

"Yarghhh!" yelled Renamon as she was sent promptly to the floor.

"Renamon!" came the distressed cry of her partner who watched on in horror.

"Takato! Stay back!" whispered the vixen, her quiet voice losing none of its commanding tone.

"Oh dear, you don't seem to have a lot of mobility for such a thin figure." taunted Icedevimon as he watched with a high degree of malicious glee.

"Maybe I would have if you allowed me more room to breathe!" gasped Renamon as she pushed her weakened body into an upright position.

**_'More room…' _**Takato pondered this as his panting Digimon prepared to launch herself at the sneering demon. Maybe she had a point. If Renamon was given more space to fight in and make her various, characteristic stunts they might stand a chance.

Brown eyes scanned the environment anxiously as he noted how high the ceiling of the icy caravan was. Enough space for a flock of pigeons to fly around in at any rate. And it was that thought that gave him an idea, that thought that sent his fingers to go leafing through his deck…

"Digi-modify! Hyperwing activate!"

All the other three beings turned round in surprise at the strong, clear voice that was being emitted from the boy's mouth as a card slid smoothly through the D-Power with ease. As though it belonged there.

"So the kid knows how to upgrade his little toy? Big deal! As though that will get him anywhere!" snorted Rika, although her tone was wavering. One reason for this was that she had been caught off guard by the fact that Takato actually knew how to make his Digimon stronger via modifying cards. The second one was that Takato had suddenly sprouted a ferocious, determined face that she could not believe a wimp like him was capable of. Yet it was only a small worry. After all she too had modifying cards and was certain she use them a lot more intelligently than any wannabe tamer! Plus there was the small matter of Icedevimon being a champion while Renamon remained at the lowly rookie one.

While these thoughts ran through Rika's mind, an interesting transformation was occurring on the field, as two fiercely glowing wings emerged from Renamon's back, filling her with a vigorous and unrelenting will to be the conqueror. They gave off a dazzling white glow as their new owner shot into the air for an aerial attack.

"Now this is more like it!" she crowed as she rammed a furry knuckle into the back of Icedevimon's skull, catching him by surprise.

"C'mon!" snarled Rika, "you mean to tell me you can't handle a hang-glider! You got wings, use them!"

"As you wish my dear", said Icedevimon grimly as his holed wings spread out and he rose into the air to face his rival.

Renamon bolted down from the sky to float beneath him and perform an upwards facing diamond storm. Unfortunately for her, the bloodshot eyes of her adversary had deceivably sharp vision, and he was able to easily spot her swift movement and fall into a quick dive and unleash an attack of his own.

"Tundra Freeze!" 

Renamon being unused to her new gift of flight was unable to dodge in time and took the full brunt of the icy attack.

"Arrghhhh!" 

The yellow fox cried as she slumped to the carpet of ice, her bruised and battered body leaving a slight imprint of her form in it, due to the force at which she was sent spiralling down to the ground.

"Renamon!" cried Takato as he shot over to her still form not caring when the other two flashed him a look of annoyance. He fell to his knees by her side ignoring the bitter coldness seeping through the thin material of his trousers as he did so, and hesitantly rested a pale palm on her shoulder. It felt just as cold as the surrounding climate. He carefully gathered the upper part of her body into his arms, straining against gravity as he raised his precious cargo off the floor. She was a little too heavy for his young muscles to lift completely so he had to make do by resting her head on his lap, his arms surrounding her chest.

One dim, blue eye opened.

"T-Tak-kato?" cracked a thin voice, weakly.

"Renamon! Don't worry I won't let them hurt you! How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days…T-Takato don't do any-t-tthing stupid…p-please…get out of here…the ne-e-ext part will only upset you…"

"What?"

"I-I-iced-devimon has g-got to load my data…"

"No! I won't let him!"

"Y-you have to-o-o! If you s-stand in his wa-a-ay he'll hu-urt you or worse…"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth, when the demon in question drifted towards them, eyes narrowing.

"Stand aside boy!" he hissed, raising his claw for the final blow that would shatter Renamon into data that he would claim for his own.

"Takato! R-run!" 

"No! Go away you freak!"

"What are you doing you stupid little googlehead! Get out of the way!" hollered Rika, eyes widening. What was he doing? Why did he look like he was about to cry over a pile of data? Why was he risking his life for something that could not love him back? Unbidden an image of Icedevimon in the same position of Renamon swarm into her mind and she subconsciously gasped. Would she stand back and let him be deleted? Or would she do what Takato was doing and shelter him with her body no matter what the risk? Something told her that she wouldn't just stand by and let the one creature that understood her be destroyed…

Amidst the confusion no one noticed a small white Digimon peek round an ice pillar and watch the scene with sad eyes, the red crystal on his head beginning to shimmer with a vibrant light…

"Renamon…c'mon I'll help you up, we gotta get out of here!" pleaded Takato as he tugged at Renamon's unresisting form helplessly.

Icedevimon scowled. He didn't particularly want to slay the boy. It wasn't that he had suddenly developed a morale sense of right or wrong it was that he was sure that Rika would never forgive him for hurting another human being. Whatever her views on Digimon he was sure that people did not fit into her category of not being real.

"Renamon…"

Takato buried his face into her bushy mane and heaved a long, shuddering sob.

Unbeknown to him, so wrapped up in his grief was he, his D-Power started glowering. He did however notice Renamon's body shift beneath his arms and became enveloped in a crimson orb. He backed away hesitantly, not wanting to leave her side but unsure of what to do. It was probably just as well that he did as no doubt he would have 'freaked out' if he had seen Renamon's skin ripped off her body as the data underneath swelled and reformatted itself to receive new skin and acquire a new skin.

"Renamon digivolve to…"

The crimson orb dispersed leaving a new Digimon in it's place. 

"…Kyuubimon!"

A golden coat covered the coiled muscles that had now become even more powerful via dig evolution as all four limbs rested firmly on the ground, each paw lost in a swirling mass of white flames. Nine, impressive tails floated alongside the co-ordinated movement of her body as she took a step forward, each tips ending in a mina fireball of white. A red and white striped collar wound itself around her neck, now swamped in an even bushier mane than before, the ends having bronze bells attached to them and a ying-yang symbol was now engraved on her head as well as on all four legs. 

Kyuubimon grinned in a very sly, fox-like way.

"Winter's over, Jack Frost!" she called confidently, basking in the aura of her new found strength.

"How did she evolve? Tell me!" spat Rika, her sharp mind whirling round trying to discover an explanation for the creation of the four-legged fox standing on the other side of the battlefield.

"I d-don't know…one minute she was Renamon then 'whoosh'…she was Kyuubimon!" Takato rambled, his own head attempting to comprehend how his Digimon had reached the next stage of development.

"Rgghh!"

The newly-evolved Digimon took a few strong strides forwards before leaping forwards at Icedevimon who barely dodged, causing Kyuubimon to land near Rika, before spinning round, her tails billowing out behind her like a male peacock's.

"Foxtail Inferno!"

Nine blue fireballs erupted out of her tails, aiming themselves towards Icedevimon who having a pair of wings at his disposal, easily avoided being hit. The fox ground her teeth together in frustration before launching herself into the air and somersaulting, her body becoming a living mass of blue energy.

"Dragon Wheel!"

A large dragon spectre formed out of the energy, shot forwards and rammed straight into the demon's chest, knocking him to the ground.

Before Icedevimon knew what had happened, the vulpine was on top of him, sinking her teeth into his arm.

Rika reached into her card holder before drawing out a card that could turn the match around in her…no…their favour when…

"Stop!"

Everyone turned to see Takato trembling with horror at the bloodbath that was about to take place.

Kyuubimon spat out Icedevimon's arm and rushed over to her tamer's side leaving a hesitant Rika to walk up to her partner's side to check his condition.

"Takato? What's the matter are you ill?"

"No! It's just that this fighting is pointless! We're both tamers we should be on the same side! In the end one of us is going to lose a friend and be heart-broken…that's not way it should be…"

"Takato…that's the way it is for us Digimon, it's all or nothing…"

"How can you say that? Don't you care about your own life? Or who you'll leave behind…"

"Of course I do! What can I do to prove myself to you?"

"…Walk away from this fight…"

There was no hesitation in Kyuubimon's voice or heart as she gave her reply.

"Let's go home…" 


	7. Walking in Moonlight

After a long wait I present the next chapter. (Snigger) I'm gonna have great fun writing the next one…

Mute: Disclaimer time! The highlight of my week! Youkomon does not own Digimon, just her creativity.

Me: Thank you for those lovely reviews people!

Mute: They hit the 50 mark Youko…

Me: Ack! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?

Mute: Do you want me to answer that?

Me:…Don't waste your breath…

Okay, for people's information a Tenko is a kitsune with nine tails, usually with golden fur. They supposedly live for 1000 years and are evil or wise messengers. 

********************

The moonlight dappled the pavement in its typical silver glow - though the more pessimistic people of this world would be tempted to call it grey. Yet the moon smiles down at them too, never judging or discriminating, hurtling everyone into her loving spotlight.

The two strange companions roaming the streets at an unsteady pace were no exception to her watchful eyes. One was a young boy sporting the unusual accessory of goggles. Beside him stalked what the more elderly city inhabitants, still clinging to their traditional beliefs, would have called a kitsune. A Tenko, a mythical fox with nine tails. That summed up Kyuubimon.

A rustle of wind. Silence.

"Are you going to talk me Takato?"

"No"

More silence. Aside from the continuous pad of feet and the click of canine claws as they resounded on the pavement.

"Will you speak me now?"

"No!"

Kyuubimon let a disappointed sigh escape her mussel and Takato felt a tinge of guilt. But that didn't change the fact that his partner had been quite willing to delete Icedevimon, despite the fact that he was friend and partner to that strange girl. It didn't matter that she wouldn't have battered an eyelid if her Digimon had ended Kyuubimon's existence. He had genuinely believed that the large mammal next to him was different to Gorillamon and other power hungry Digimon and now it had arisen that she wasn't. Leastways that's how Takato saw it.

Kyuubimon was stuck in her thoughts too. Unlike Rika, Takato was a lot more sensitive and emotional; she should have guessed that he would react like this. And for once in her life Kyuubimon could not come up with a solution for the problem before her. There was a very distinctive gap between her and her tamer. And she had no materials with which to build a bridge to cross the chasm.

This wasn't a Digimon fight. Emotions couldn't be deleted like opponents, problems would be impossible to absorb like data.

So for now, the moonlight walkers travelled along the pavement, residing in silence.

*****************

Rika shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot, her mass tilting back and forth between the two on a pedestal.

This was not good. Icedevimon's presence was always around; there was no mistaking that icy feeling of watchfulness that she could feel most of the time. Most people would have been uneasy, comparing his behaviour to that of a stalker…well, Rika wasn't most people and she rarely got nervous.

"Icedevimon? Snowman! Where are you?"

Nothing, no shadow, no decrease in temperature, no tale-tale sign of the demon was present. And Rika was panicking…

**_'Has he finally melted out of my life like I thought he would?'_**

That was enough to make the composed teenager overflow with the clammy coldness of dread and disbelief. The all too familiar loneliness reared its ugly head, threatening to engulf her once more.

"Yes my dear?" inquired the 'evil' Digimon as he revealed his physical form, beside the pale shadows on the floor, created by the lustful glow of moonlight.

"Where_were_you?!?" demanded Rika pronouncing each word slowly and carefully, so that her companion would note the bitter tone in her voice.

"Contemplating…"

"What!"

"…your actions today. You ran to see if my condition was stable after Kyuubimon released me…"

"I walked!"

"…You ran…"

"I walked!

"You_ran."

"I WALKED, GODDAMNIT!"

"Unless I was hallucinating, you ran!"

"Fine…I admit it…"

A confident smirk flew over Icedevimon face, causing his partner to narrow her eyes.

"…I walked quickly."

The smirk vanished and was transferred onto Rika's face as she slyly scooped up her pillow into her arms, squeezing it tightly against her ribcage.

"Foolish child, I know what I saw and-Ahh!"

The face of Icedevimon was rudely introduced to the pillow as it left Rika's hands for the purpose of humiliating him. Yes, the warrior who had skilfully avoided contact with Kyuubimon's foxtail inferno attack, had been pummelled by a rectangular object thrown by a young girl.

The smirk on Rika's face grew wider as the pillow slipped down to the floor to reveal the glowering features of her Digimon who had not taken too kindly to her actions at all.

The abused pillow was captured by the swift movements of the fallen angel and hoisted into the air, where it rapidly descended to meet the scalp of the inert teen.

"Ow! Why you…Ohh, you are in for it now Snowman!" growled Rika as she seized her grandmother's cookery book and attempted to fend off the pillow that was coming in for another blow.

It was going to be a noisy evening at the Nonaka residence.

***************

"Oh"

Kyuubimon looked quizzically at her tamer as he uttered a single syllable of realisation, secretly glad that the awkward silence between them had been broken. Maybe now they could smooth things over.

"What is it Takato?" she asked unable to hide the curiosity leaking into her voice.

"I've just remembered…that tamer…she was the one in my dream! She and her Digimon were the ones fighting that tiger thing…what was his name again?"

"Icedevimon", said Kyuubimon in a hushed tone.

Takato gave her a surprised glance that betrayed concern at the queer note in her voice before continuing.

"Yeah, isn't it strange? That I have this dream and then we meet them two days later. It was a pity the only thing they were interested in was beating us; I would have liked to make a few new friends. I mean, Henry and Terriermon are our friends so why not that girl and Icedevimon?"

"Rika is different…she is cold-hearted and finds it difficult to interact with other humans. The only way she can express herself is through Digimon battles."

"What! How do you know her name? Wait a minute…Rika was the one you were apologising to when you were in that trance after I told you about my dream that night…you're hiding something from me…"

Two blue eyes widened as Takato spun round, righteous flames dancing within his eyes.

"Why? I haven't hidden anything from you! How can we be partners when you can't even tell me the whole truth?" 

A strange gurgling sound arose from Kyuubimon throat as she tried to avoid the question. Unfortunately it's impossible to sidestep the truth when a pair of hurt brown eyes are demanding answers.

"I was trying to spare your feelings Takato…the reason I knew Rika was because I, along with many other Digimon, approached her when she received her D-Power and was in need of a partner. But before I got the chance to speak with her, Icedevimon tossed me aside like a rag doll and became Rika's Digimon…"

"That's okay, I get it now…I was the back-up choice, your last resort!" Takato proclaimed harshly, causing Kyuubimon to winch at the new tone he had adopted, a tone that didn't suit his nature at all.

"No! That's not it at all! You've got it all wrong! Let me explain-"

But Takato didn't stop to listen, breaking into a sprint across the road, his more emotional side in tatters.

Mumbling curses under her breath, the four limbed athlete, pursued her target only to come face to face with the squeal of unoiled brakes and the blinding glare of headlights. Reacting quickly, she bent her powerful legs and took a flying leap over the screaming vehicle, executing a perfect landing on the tarmac several metres away. Praising her stars that the car had not appeared when Takato had blindly run across the road, she glanced round to see said boy had vanished from sight. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she charged down the street, seeking his scent.

The driver of the car watched her go before pulling out a mobile with shaking hands.

"Mr Yamaki, sir? You told me to ring you if I spotted anything 'out of the ordinary'. Well, what I've just seen either means you're working for the men in black suits or I've drunk one too many at Malcolm's stag night…"

*****************

Takato was quite literally sobbing his heart out and hating himself for it. Why was he so weak? Whenever things seemed to go wrong his vast heart started to bleed and everything he was feeling inside leaked out in the form of tears. This was more commonly known as crying something that society teaches us is weak. As with many other things society got it wrong, mistaking the release of emotions as a fault rather than perceiving it as strength of character. Needless to say, fate was being exceedingly cruel and a man who held on to this widespread belief was currently observing the distraught boy with a predatory look entering his eyes.

Trying to regain the breath he had lost due to his recent mad dash, Takato became aware of a presence lurking in the recess of the shadow cast by the lamppost. The presence then introduced itself by walking into the moonlight and revealing a middle-aged human. 

"You are a tamer, am I correct?"

Takato regarded the man as though he was God.

"W-what?"

The tips of the man's lips curled into a mocking sneer as he pointed to the ruby D-Power enclosed in the young trembling hands.

"..Oh…"

"And that wasn't the only thing…I could smell you were a tamer. Your scene stands out from amongst the crowd. Hardly surprising. How many humans can boast the fact they have their own personal Digimon", the man stated coolly, waving a hand dismissively.

"Wait a minute…you smelt me?!? Uh-oh…"

Takato thrust himself into a sprint only to discover his shoulder had been captured in a vice-like grip. He was then swung around and became tangled in a merciless gaze.

"Where are you going young one, hmm? I have many questions, the most important one being the misplaced ability you possess, that makes your Digimon digivolve…" 

Heart hitting his ribcage painfully, Takato threw his head back, giving his jaw permission to drop and screamed out the first name that shot through his brain.

"Kyuubimon!"

*************

Icedevimon's eyes rolled towards the direction of the great outdoors and a hiss escaped his clenched teeth.

The now-ripped cookery book was lowered to her side, as the young girl noted the change in him and viewed him passively. It had to be a Digital field and the promise of a new battle that was making him agitated.

"We have to leave now!"

Rika flinched at the arrupt tone. Seeing this, her partner's crimson pools softed for a few seconds as he lowered himself to her level.

"I know this Digimon…an old acquaintance of mine…he gives the word ruthless a whole new meaning."

A casual smirk fluttered along the line of Rika's mouth.

"Well, then what are we waiting for, Snowman? Let's go teach him the meaning of the word submissive…"

**************

The tenko's muzzle flashed up, eyes glinting dangerously, as her sixth sense informed her that her tamer was in danger. She could hear his desperate cries resounding in her mind and primitive growls arose in her throat. With worry gnawing at her she increased her speed drastically before being bowled over by an immense air current.

"What are you doing here?"

Kyuubimon looked up to see that was being addressed by a hovering Icedevimon, his partner being held firmly in his arms.

"I was searching for my tamer! Stand aside! I can sense he is danger and find him!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Rika eyes imitated the exact same movement as she suppressed a snigger.

"Amateur! I knew goggle-head wasn't up to the challenge of being a Digimon Tamer…"

"I don't have time for this!" snapped Kyuubimon, "Tell me Icedevimon, would you have time for ideal chatter if Rika was in distress?"

The demon's back straightened, each bone in his spine tightening. Kyuubimon had hit a nerve. Yet…he could understand her predicament. Perhaps that's what prompted him to say what he said next.

"We'll aid you in your search."

At once he was thrown into the intense stares of the two females causing him to recoil a little and curse his softness.

**_'In the name of all that is cold, why did I say that?'_**

****************

Takato's eyes widened in horror as the form that was holding him began to flicker and change as though it were a reptile that was casting off an old skin. Sharp, inhuman fingers dug into the tender flesh of his arm as the transformation was completed and the Digimon before him watched his fruitless attempts to escape the restraining hand coolly.

Seven kids on an island…battling evil foes…having adventures on the plastic apparatus that resided in his living room…the wondrous television. 

"Devimon!"


	8. Formation of a new team?

I had better post this before I forget…so tired….anyhow sorry to disappoint a few of you who thought Devimon was a major character to the storyline…although who's not to say he'll come back in more ways than one in a future chapter? But seriously, I have an idea for a big battle in either chapter ten or eleven and it doesn't involve wild Digimon.

Once again thank you a million times over to all who decided to review. A mental grin is being beamed your way!

Mute: Looking through the writer's memories, she doesn't own Digimon or any of the wonder characters in it. Heaven help us all if she did

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Me: Someone asked how Devimon was able to look like a human…well I dimly recall him able to pass through walls so I figured he had other special powers, being a demon and all. Plus the fact that when you write a story you get a creative license giving you the power to do the impossible…that's the beauty of fan fiction!

"Let him go!" thundered a yellow blur as she streaked towards Devimon. The white tips of tails burst into crackling blue flames in the wake of her anger and static electricity was clearly coursing through her fur.

Devimon looked up in surprise as the raging female closed the distance between them; yet his grip on the writhing Takato didn't alter in the slightest. Almost casually he side stepped the rampage of adrenaline filled muscles and snapping jaws.

"I recommend you do as she says."

The black demon's face developed a knowing smile as he turned to face another, except his trademark colour was white. He was accompanied by a young girl who did not betray a single ounce of fear, although her eyes had been enlarged slightly at the sight of the captured Takato. But it had only been for a second. That was all.

"Ah, my dear brother, how nice to see you again…"

A flash of confusion raced through Rika's quick-thinking brain. How could Digimon be related to each other? It wasn't like they were flesh and blood! Unless of course, it was a formal greeting reserved for similar looking Digimon. And indeed, many similarities could be noted between the ex-angels. Rika nodded her head confidently. That must be it.

"And this must be your tamer…" finished Devimon as his thoughtful gaze rested on the Digimon Queen.

Rika's body gave a tremble of apprehension as those merciless eyes bore into her with such sharpness it were as though their possessor was willing her to bend in half. The eyes flashed with a gleam of contentment before diverting themselves back to Icedevimon.

"I must congratulate you on your taste…she is a pretty one, hmm?" smirked the midnight coloured demon delighting in the discomfort he was causing in both Digimon and partner.

Rika became aware of how parched and brittle her mouth had became when Devimon fixed his unnerving leer on her again, resulting in an unsuccessful attempt on her part to repress another shudder than flowed through her body. Noticing this, Icedevimon's hand surrounded her shoulder in a protective grip and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Two violet eyes flickered to his face, surprised at the gesture, before casting themselves downwards again, the icy outer façade residing in them once more.

"Err, a little help please?" a young voice timidly broke through the tension of the moment. Takato blushed as four pairs of eyes beamed their full attention at him.

"This is your last chance Devimon! Release my Tamer and I will spare you!" threatened Kyuubimon as each word emerged as a short, angry hiss.

"Only if you tell me the secret to your digivolution…or your precious human will part company with his head!" retorted the unfazed Devimon, secretly amused at the unhealthy shade of white Takato's face had turned at his last remark.

"Well your courage has increased dramatically since we last met brother. You can now stand up to a human child!" Icedevimon sneered.

Devimon gave him a well aimed death glare as his nails dipped painfully into Takato's shoulder blades, causing him to yelp and Kyuubimon to become even more enraged.

"Why do you concern yourself with the troubles of two partners who pose more of a threat to you than help?"

"It would seem that being in this realm has…softened me", grimaced Icedevimon a hint of disgust barely audible in his voice, "I find myself recently becoming hindered by the development of something these humans call a conscience. It's forcing me to place myself in the same position Kyuubimon currently inhabits…how would I feel if Rika was encircled by a pair of arms as repulsive as yours?"

Sparkling amethysts travelled up to meet scarlet orbs, surprise unveiled in them once more. This moment was to be disturbed though…

"Wanna play!" chirped a childish voice as a small Digimon bounded enthusiastically into the scene, giggling with such glee that both Rika's and the two demons' lips curled back in a bitter grimace.

Takato blinked. "Who's that?" he questioned motioning to the cheerful fuzz ball with his head.

"No idea", replied Kyuubimon an expression of bafflement now present in her eyes.

"I'm Calumon! Whatcha doing?" he remarked admirably as he leapt up to land uninvited on Devimon's shoulder.

The black demon scowled as though someone was waving a carton of sour milk under his nose. Eyes flashing angrily, two slim fingers streaked forward vertically and flicked off the minute cutie so he had a fairly undignified descent to the ground.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" yelled Takato indignantly, feeling a flicker of compassion and righteous anger stir in his heart as he watched crystalline tears coat the now damp fur of the tiny creature's cheeks. Sniffling, it (none were quite sure of its gender) walked off to seek refuge behind the nearby dustbin.

Kyuubimon's face paled slightly, knowing that provoking the quick temper of an evil Digimon was not the best thing Takato could have done. But then again, what more could she have expected from her golden-hearted tamer? If only he wasn't quite so vocal…she need not have worried.

Before Devimon had a chance to retaliate to the boy's cheek, a white hand shot out of nowhere and slapped him clean across the face, forcing him to stumble awkwardly and drop his captive. In a matter of seconds black and white were on the ground, outstretched talons grabbling at non-existent hair, bony wing blades being shoved in the other's face, legs slashing inwards and primitive growls being emitted. It was a more demonic male version of a cat fight.

Takato had wasted no time in running to the side of his Digimon, thrusting his small arms around her thick neck and burying his face into her soft, warm, breathing mass of chest fur.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he murmured repeatedly feeling the hot pinpricks of tears seep through his closed eyelids.

"I know, I know, I know…" murmured Kyuubimon back, her usually assertive voice soaked in warm honey, a soft voice reserved just for him.

Small hands clasped individual tuffs of fur as they were a lifeline to reality and seemed to develop a life of their own as they hauled the rest of the body upwards. Slender legs scrambled around for a foothold and trainer-clad feet slipped clumsily on the striped harness circulating the kitsune's neck. Kyuubimon said not a word as his warm, gentle breath slide alongside her face as he eventually drew level to her ears. She flew along the ground smoothly, careful not to bump her passenger too much, who was half hanging, half clinging to her neck. Yet he valiantly held on like a limpet, his hands turning white from the pressure he was inflicting on them, the fingers tightly entwined with strands of snowy velvet.

Rika simply rolled her eyes at the tender reunion.

"Take that!" the voice of one of the demons cracked through the air like a whip, though no one could tell who the voice belonged to. The flurry of white and black had not slowed down in the slightest, the only living thing paying any attention to the fight being Rika.

Kyuubimon continued her walk, ignoring the undignified scrap behind her, until Takato raised his head wearily.

"We can't just leave Rika and Icedevimon to fight alone!"

"There is no way I am letting you go back there Takato…"

"You are way too overprotective…"

"Can you blame me? I think I'm acting reasonably well considering the fact that you could have got killed by an insane demon…"

"And who was it that saved me from the insane demon? In case you've forgotten, Icedevimon is the reason I'm on your back and not on the ground!"

Kyuubimon halted. She hadn't thought of it like that. That meant she owed a massive debt to Icedevimon as much as she despised the thought of it.

"I'm not going to force you to come back if you don't want to but you've no right to keep me back here!"

The Tenko's head flicked away to a sideways angle in order to observe the angry look on his face. Just a quick glance; yet it was enough to show her that he was being serious and meant every single word he uttered. Inwardly she let out a mental sigh.

"Alright…but no unnecessary risks!"

Takato grinned.

"Yes, mother."

An amused spark arose in Kyuubimon's eye as a single tail detached itself from the others and affectionately bopped him on the head gently.

"Watch it or you'll lose your ride!

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"Weakling!"

"Horn-head!"

The air swung around, thick and heavy with insults as Rika watched the brawl between the two demons with a pained expression on her face.

"Whussy!"

"Human pet!"

A muscle started to twitch in Rika's cheek.

"Yobbo!"

"Housewife!"

"SHUT UP!"

The two demons halted and turned their surprised faces towards the visibly fuming human.

"STOP ACTING LIKE A PAIR OF SIX YEAR OLDS AND GET OFF THE GROUND!"

The demons cowered as they saw purple fire roaring in Rika's eyes and hastily pushed themselves up onto their feet.

"Now shake hands!" she ordered.

The two rivals unwillingly stretched out their forelimbs to each other and proceeded with the awkward handshake.

Rika smirked before seeing the newly arrived Takato and Kyuubimon gaping.

"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?"

The two flinched before quickly saying, "nothing!"

Icedevimon and his counterpart released each other's hands as they realised that had just been intimidated by a young human who did not possess the power to hurt them in any physical form. They glowered at each other, secretly embarrassed.

"I don't think they need our help." Kyuubimon whispered in Takato's ear.

"Agreed!" he responded quietly.

"Hey! Takato!"

Takato blinked at the mention of his name before raising his eyes to view the newcomer.

"Ack! Henry! Where have you been man?"

Henry blinked.

"The dentist."

Five pairs of eyes regarded him in disbelief, jaws stretched to their limit.

"Why? Did I miss something? Wow…when did Renamon digivolve?"

Five sweatdrops fastened themselves to the heads of the owners of the goggling eyes.

"Wow gogglehead…your friend's timekeeping is just as good as your taste in headwear…" remarked Rika.

Henry took no offence at the statement choosing to use the next few seconds to observe Rika with his calm eyes.

"Who's this Takato?" he finally asked.

"Oh, that's Rika. She's a Digimon tamer just like us! Her partner is Icedevimon."

"And not just your average tamer either," the girl stated factually, "the best! I'm the Digimon Queen!"

Icedevimon tilted his head slightly in order to confirm this, his thin-lipped smile daring anyone to disagree.

Everybody was startled by a sudden snarl from Devimon as he glared maliciously at them all.

"Is this the bad guy we have to beat?" questioned Henry looking at Takato for confirmation.

"Yep!"

"Monumental Henry, I've got it covered," chuckled Terriermon before turning to Icedevimon and adding, "what is he, your lost relative or something?"

"Enough with the chit-chat! I've finally lost all patience with you!" proclaimed Devimon before raising a single claw and indicating a defenceless Rika.

"No!" whispered Icedevimon hollowly, eyes widening to impossible sizes as he realised was about to befall his tamer.

"Evil Wing!" Devimon cackled as the attack raced towards the teen.

Rika just stood there in disbelief, heart galloping in her chest as the blast neared her. For once the blood that travelled the many vessels in her body, matched the temperature of her personality. Turned cold by pure, undeniable fear.

"Tundra Freeze!"

A sharp onslaught of slender icicles shot across her line of vision, severing the dark energy into tiny, insignificant flakes that merged with the air into nothing.

The girl just concentrated on regaining her lost breath, body quivering like a blade of grass being molested by the wind. Feeling halfway back to normal she then twisted herself round to stare at the one who had saved her.

Icedevimon stood there, arm outstretched and hand still pointing in the same direction he had sent the attack. But a truly terrible expression was firmly glued to his face. It consisted of a strange combination of fear and cold, menacing rage, unlimited fury. Not unsimilar to the contorted features on the face of a parent whose child had been ruthlessly knocked aside by the unfeeling metal of a car.

"You attacked my tamer…" Icedevimon hissed, voice bubbling over with feelings he tried to hide.

"…And you saved me…" whispered Rika disbelievly to herself.

"**_No one _**threatens my tamer and lives!" finished the white demon before launching himself upon the temporarily mute Devimon.

Kyuubimon observed the new fight seeing how Icedevimon took control from the start and how his rival was forced to employ defensive stances, having no time to make a counter strike. More than that, she understood why the icy one had the advantage. For once he was fighting for the sake of his tamer and not just for himself. His selfless desire to protect Rika was fuelling every fibre of his body with new found strength.

A small smile graced Kyuubimon's muzzle. He was finally beginning to understand.

Her musings were harshly interrupted by a dying scream as Icedevimon slashed down, clean through Devimon's skull causing his head to disintegrate into data with the rest of his body following suit.

Takato shivered unable to get the vision of Devimon's pain-filled face out of his head where it quickly sealed itself into his memory. It was not going to be one he would be able to forget easily.

"That was horrible!" he whispered to his partner, nails grasping his palms already sticky with sweat.

"Fighting is never pretty," murmured the vixen, understanding lighting up her eyes. Over the past few days she had began to see there was more to life than fighting, more pleasure to be derived from the simpler aspects of life. She had a single person to thank for that.

Takato peered at her.

"I thought you liked fighting?"

"True, but I have more worthy priorities now." Kyuubimon sighed as she cast a very fox-like look at him. She shut her eyes and closed herself off from the added power her champion form offered her, feeling a glow of warm light envelop her. Within a few seconds she reverted back to her old body supported on her two hind legs.

"Renamon?"

"Yes Takato, it's me," she chuckled, a paw flashing out and ruffling his brown hair affectionately.

"Hey! Watch the goggles!" laughed the abused boy as he tried to fend off the strong arm that was massaging his scalp.

The arm was withdrawn suddenly and Takato blinked. He glanced round to see that all three Digimon were regarding the air in front of them with intensity. The air that seemed to be shimmering and blurring at certain angles.

"Is it a digital field?" demanded Rika having recovered from her ordeal.

"No," replied Icedevimon, flexing tattered wing muscles.

Static electricity rippled through the air before three rectangular shaped objects appeared, hovering before each tamer. On impulse they reached up and enclosed the source of interest in their hand. At once they stopped shining with an eerie light and the air returned to its normal condition.

The tamers opened up the caverns of their hands to reveal a blue card in each.

"It's a card to digivolve a rookie to a champion. But I've never seen a card quite like this before…" Henry pondered aloud.

"But why on earth have I got this card as well? Icedevimon's already a champion level Digimon!" scowled Rika before waving a fist at the sky, "Hey God! What are you playing at?"

"Yeah but what he got so weak that he had to revert back to the rookie stage?" suggested Takato only to be rewarded with a dirty look from the miffed girl.

"And what are the chances of that goggle-head? I'm too good a tamer to allow that to happen!" growled Rika before returning her attention to the clouds above, "listen God! If you hurt google-head I'll go to church each week, pray every day and spread the Word!"

"Let's just be grateful for what we have got!" Henry remarked wisely before spinning round to walk home, colliding with Takato as he did so, sending them both spiralling to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.

Rika smirked before clearly telling the sky, "By the way God…I lied."

God must have been listening as the heavens decided to open and let the rain pelt the strange group into a drenched state. There was a series of groans and mutters.

"Don't you know better than to tempt fate?" Henry asked Rika, raising his eyebrows quizzically.

Rika rolled up a hand into the formidable weapon more commonly known as the fist.

**_'Must not punch goggle-head's friend, must not punch goggle head's friend…'_**


	9. Separation and a new ally or maybe two

Lookie! I finally completed another chapter! Many thanks for the reviews!

Mute: Well done, go and post it when everybody's gone and lost interest…

Me: Yeah, well "destiny's been a bad girl" as Jeri once said and she stole away someone really close to me for good, so I really wasn't in the mood to do anything really for the past three weeks or so, so there!

Mute:…She doesn't own Digimon someone else's destiny is in charge of that…

Me:…Yeah…and I know that a few people might wanna know what is up with that girl at the end of this chapter but I assure you she does have a purpose and will not muck up anything…err…hopefully…

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

A gentle wind was dancing through the air. So timid it could be classified as a breeze. It stepped gracefully over the rooftops and caressed the mop of brown hair lining a certain tamer's scalp.

Takato sighed gratefully as he felt the refreshing sensation of moving air hit his head with the same force as a butterfly's wings. It was moments like these that made him feel at peace with the world. Maybe if he could get Renamon to experience the same things he felt she would…loosen up a bit and not worry so much about him. She was like a shadow around him ever since the Devimon encounter two nights ago. Understandable but still…

"Renamon?"

The air rippled and sighed as a new presence broke through the breeze and stood by his side on the balcony.

"Yes? Is something wrong? Why aren't you at school?"

"…It's Saturday…"

"…Oh…homework?"

Takato waved a hand in a dismissive gesture as though fending off an irritating insect.

"Oh, there's plenty of time for that!"

Renamon raised a slender eyebrow regally, correctly translating her tamer's remark as I'll-leave-it-to-the-last-minute-then-panic.

"Why don't we go inside and do it together?"

Takato gazed up at her dubiously.

"Wouldn't that be cheating?"

A smirk flowed over the kitsune's cheekbones.

"According to the school rules you cheat by copying another pupil's work and so forth. They don't mention anything about a Digimon helping…"

"Well okay then! But not just yet!"

Renamon instantly adopted a sterner tone of voice and folded her arms.

"And why not may I ask?"

"I like feeling the breeze on my face…"

The Digimon observed the human in a perplexed manner.

"It's really cool and it makes you feel…well…I dunno…nice I guess. I want to share that with you. Please?"

Renamon stared silently at the hand that was being offered to her. Giving her the chance to experience another simple joy that seemed to thrill her partner. Her eyesight travelled further along his arm and met his warm brown eyes. Much to her annoyance she found herself melting under their pleading gaze.

"Alright…but not for too long!"

Takato's face lit up with a strong radiance of happiness at this simple prospect. Causing Renamon to smile in spite of herself.

Fur met skin as Renamon was pulled down to his level. Boy and Digimon sat in sunshine as the female gave permission for the wind to ruffle her golden fur.

# # # # # # # # # #

The park was abounding with the activity of the life including the many delicate eco-systems that thrived under human noses never to be noticed. The laughter of children bounced off trees and other natural objects as they in immersed themselves in the pastime of 'play.'

No one noticed a faint white vapour sneak over an inhabited section of the park or the digital life form in it come into being and raise it's head, red eyes glowing in it's skull like live coals. A deep moan of hunger echoed in its exposed throat. It was time to feed…

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Renamon closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet breeze deeply. Takato was right, this sensation was…heavenly. Yes, pure, untainted heaven. She couldn't think of a better way to put it if she tried!

Her eyelids slowly rose unveiling the dreamy look that now inhabited those icy blue depths. Her gaze drifted over to the young boy beside her and noticed that he was enjoying this pleasant experience just as much as she was; his head tilted right back so that the air could dance on the vulnerable skin covering his throat. For a moment she briefly wondered what it would be like to do the same thing as the wind only with her tongue tasting the supple flesh…before her eyes widened at an alarming rate.

It was lucky for her that Takato's eyes were clenched shut tightly, savouring the moment, so he did not notice the rosy hue that crossed her cheeks.

**_'I did not just think that about my tamer, I did not just think that about my tamer…'_** her mind chanted desperately to itself.

Her limber body leapt onto the roof in a flash, muscles taut and face tense. Her back was straight against the timid wind as though defying it and turning her back on these new found feelings with contempt. Yet the breeze was persistent coaxing her to turn around and look her now baffled tamer in the eyes.

"Renamon?"

Renamon flinched at the puzzled and slightly hurt tone in his voice. Her posture slouched a little visibly weakening but her will was strong and scolded her body for letting her down. She refused to turn around knowing that if she did so, her will would instantly be lost in the two whirlpools of chocolate behind her. Her eyes closed in an attempt to steady her nerves.

"I'm going Takato."

And with that statement hanging in the air she was snapped up into the wind allowing her brain to transport her somewhere, anywhere from the boy and the pit of confusion he just opened within her.

Takato stared at the now empty space of air that Renamon had inhabited just a few seconds ago. His gaze drifted down to his slack palms resting on the iron railings.

"What did I do wrong this time?" he questioned the air earnestly, his bafflement echoing in the silence.

The wind didn't answer.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"Arf! Arf! Are you alright?"

Rika shook her head to free her vision from several strands of hair that had incontinently flopped over her eyes. She then glared up into the unblinking eyes of a cloth puppet in the shape of a cartoonish dog face.

The puppet opened its mouth only to receive a mouthful of Rika's fist. The puppet stifled a yelp and withdrew quickly to look into puzzled brown eyes.

"Why's that girl being so mean?" the girl asked the animal on her hand, seemingly captivated by the fact it was a lot friendlier than the glaring girl on the ground before her.

The puppet shook its head sadly.

"Maybe she's upset!" it chirped in a squeaky voice.

Rika watched bemused as the girl's lips moved along in time to the puppet's high-pitched voice.

"You are…strange…" she stated finally.

The gentle-looking girl now wore a look of bafflement as well as the puppet on her hand as she gazed down at the bristling female tamer. But the relatively clueless expression on her face suddenly morphed into one of horror and the puppet-free hand rose up to point at something standing a few yards behind the tree Rika was sprawled against.

With a feeling of caution nestling in her stomach, Rika's head snapped round the circumference of the tree trunk to see her partner standing there looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Did you knock my tamer into that tree!" he demanded, his always unnerving gaze thundering into a trembling brown one.

The puppeteer squeaked but didn't move, frozen to the spot with fear, one ghostly-pale hand clutching her puppet in a vice-like grip.

"No! She didn't hurt me! It was my fault!"

Rika's young voice cracked through the air, scattering sound waves and carrying authority as she scrambled to her feet.

"I err…kinda walked into a tree…I shut my eyes while I was walking along 'cos I thought it would let me hear my walkman better…"

The expression on Icedevimon's face was unreadable though if you had a microscope you may have been able to see his lips twitching slightly.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"So you see that's what happened…I don't understand it Henry! What did I do wrong?" Takato's voice garbled over the phone.

Henry sighed, holding the receiver away from his ear until Takato's panic attack was over. Yet there was a frown covering his forehead as he was fond of Takato; the boy helped him relax and he was one of the few friends Henry possessed. And friendship was something very precious to Henry Wong.

"Listen Takato, I don't think you did anything. It sounds to me like there was something else on her mind and she didn't want you to worry about it."

From his eavesdropping position Terriermon face faulted.

There was silence over the phone.

"Takato?"

There was more silence over the phone.

"Takato! Are you there?"

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! SHE PROMISED ME NO MORE SECRETS!"

Henry's grey eyes widened as he remembered Takato was still having trust issues with his Digimon.

"Nice one Henry…" muttered Terriermon.

"Shut up!" hissed the tamer before realising what he had said, "no, I didn't mean you Takato!"

Terriermon shook his head sadly before returning to his task of 'correcting' Henry's maths homework.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Renamon roamed through the treetops of the park, her eyes restless, darting everywhere and not missing a single shadow. Beneath her fur her spirit was quaking with uncertainty and her digital pulse quickened as her claws scrabbled against the toughened bark of an old oak.

Chest heaving, Renamon forced her body to halt in the lower boughs of a beech tree. There she let her emotions drift away and her mind process the current upheaval her heart was going through.

"Doggie!"

The icy blue marbles bore downwards only to meet with rich brown ones. Like Takato's…only the owner was a lot younger and a female at that.

"Doggie!" laughed the girl her petit arms reaching up to Renamon.

The Digimon's first impulse was to flee; then the muscles relaxed at the realisation that the human was too young to be taken seriously if she reported the yellow 'doggie' in a tree. Besides it was clear from the gleeful smile spreading over the little girl's lips that this human meant no harm.

"Hello there", stated Renamon coolly, raising her paw in greeting.

The child stumbled backwards in shock, mouth slightly agape. This lasted only for a few seconds before the youngster clasped her hands together in sheer delight at this magical encounter. Excitement now highlighted her features.

"Hey! You can talk! Wow! I've never met a talking animal before!"

Renamon smothered the twinge of annoyance she felt at being called an animal before proceeding to twist through the air to land beside the young girl. She fell to her knees and gazed at the child for a while, studying the wonderment in her small companion's eyes.

"What is your name child?"

The girl gasped as the kitsune's paw found her shoulder and coated it in a smooth and gentle grip.

"It's Keiko…"

"Keiko? That's a pretty name!"

The little girl's cheeks became slightly flushed and her feet brushed against the earth in embarrassment, stirring up dust in miniature tornados.

But the next second even bigger spirals of dust were created as Renamon's ebony claws swiped across the ground in fear and alarm. Her back straightened as she stared into gleaming rubies of malice.

Keiko let out a shriek.

"It's a monster!"

"So hungry…" the large figure rumbled. It took a step towards the pair, the eyes fixed on Keiko.

Renamon leapt into action straight away, the familiar battle fury circulating her body. Her arms came up then separated again in two swift movements.

"Diamond storm!"

Flying like bullets, the jewels struck their target…and rioted off sounding like unexploded shells striking an air raid shelter. Though they could have been flower petals for all the good they had done.

With a bellow, a large claw flew forward, Renamon only barely dodging it in mid-air. It didn't really matter, Renamon wasn't aiming to win. She had known right from the start that he was too strong for her to handle by herself. The trouble was she had the safety of a young human to consider.

"Keiko! Run!"

The small brunette needed no further prompting. Eyes wide with terror she took off exiting through the shadows.

Renamon returned her attention to the losing battle. If none of the tamers arrived soon, she would be history. But in her mind's eye, her deletion would be worth it if it ensured the well being of an innocent child.

The vixen let out a passionate snarl and soared up, towards her enemy's forelimb.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"Will you stop following me around!"

The brown eyed girl backed away from the angry purple eyed one.

"I'm s-sorry…"

"Yes, very, very sorry!" the puppet agreed, "but Jeri's never seen someone with a guardian angel before!"

"He's not an angel, he's a Digimon…"muttered Rika through gritted teeth.

Brown eyes widened.

"Oh grow up!" snapped Rika yanking off the puppet and hurtling it towards the ground.

Yet even the mighty Digimon queen felt something inside her shiver when the other girl's eyes began to brim with tears. Not liking this feeling one bit, Rika then proceeded to stop down on the puppet's face with the heel of her trainer.

It's owner gave a strangled gasp and Icedevimon felt it was time to intervene.

"Rika! That's enough!"

Though she said nothing, Rika silently agreed as the puppeteer bent down to retrieve her fallen 'friend'. The brown eyes were downcast now and trembling as much as Rika's guilt was searing. Without a word Rika turned and began to stomp away.

Unfortunately Icedevimon had plenty to say.

"Rika! I understand you found that girl to be annoying, even I found her a bit too…what's the word…perky? But that attack on her was unprovoked, you hurt her emotionally, wounded her deeply, because of what? Because she looked up to you, respected you, admired you? Or was it because you couldn't drive her away with your coldness? Did you fear her smile? Did you think it would disarm you?"

His partner halted. When she spoke he had to strain hard in order to catch her words.

"How come you can always read me like I'm a book, Snowman?"

She spun round and marched back to Jeri.

"Hey kid!"

The girl looked up from her kneeling position, cradling her puppet protectively. Her eyes looked apprehensive and fearful.

Rika halted above her.

"I'm sorry…" she said softly.

The corners of the smaller girl's mouth twisted upwards slightly.

"That's okay…it is kinda babyish to play with a puppet anyway…"

"No…the puppet's fine…everyone has something special right? I've got my Digimon and…"

"I've got my puppet!" finished Jeri smiling fully now.

The faint arm entered the puppet once again and the hand forced the head up and down roughly in agreement.

Rika's hand closed round the puppet and the thin wrist within. Her fingers stroked the fabric with graceful curves, noting with some surprise that the material was similar to that dress her mother had made for her. A genuine smile slide onto her face.

"Wow…you look pretty when you smile! I wish I could be like you!" said Jeri with admiration.

Rika smirked.

"Trust me kiddo…you don't…what's you're name anyway?" she asked causally.

"Jeri! My puppet told you earlier remember silly!" came the amiable giggle.

Rika grimaced.

"Oh yeah…"

"What's your-"

"-Rika!" the female tamer cut in quickly.

Icedevimon watched the exchange curiously, realising that a strong friendship had been formed in front of him. He found the whole process fascinating; what strange customs these humans had to be sure! Once again he was invaded by the warm sense of contentment he got when his tamer was happy. Though he was currently feeling a little left out as the two girls seemed to have forgotten him, so intent they were in their strange conversation. At least he was until he caught Jeri's eyes glance at him with an impressed look shining in their depths. It looked like he had found an admirer in this new friend. Something his arrogance welcomed whole-heartily. He was dragged out of his thoughts by his eyes which alerted him to three new presences. He smirked.

"We have company my dear!" he called softly.

The girl in question raised her head not noticing the grin that spread over Jeri's face as she recognised two of her school fellows.

"Have you guys seen Renamon?"

"No, Takato I have not!" scowled Rika, "What is it with you two anyway? You always seem to get separated!"

"Help!"

A small girl burst through the shadows into the sunlight.

"You have to help! The doggie's gonna get eaten! First the monster tried to eat me then the doggie saved me and now she needs help!"

The three tamers exchanged glances.

"Monster?"

The little girl nodded earnestly.

"Yeah! The big, yellow doggie's in trouble. Even though she threw big shiny stones at it!"

Takato paled as he questioned, "big shiny rocks? You mean like diamonds?

"Yeah, like mummy's necklace!"

Takato sprinted down the pathway through the trees, sticky palms layered with sweat and lungs breathless.

"Renamon!"

"Guess Takato's got a few more brain cells than I gave him credit for!" chuckled Henry as he followed his friend, anxiety starting to bite him inside.

"He won't have any brain cells left, if we don't stop him doing something stupid!" yelled Rika hotly giving chase.

Henry cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Aw…you do care Rika…"

He was suddenly fixed in the headlights of a furious purple glare.

Jeri watched the three humans accompanied by two Digimon fade out of view. She felt the lifeless button eyes of her puppet on her. Looking at it she attempted to make it sit up straight and solemn like Icedevimon. The head lolled over onto one side comically representing a dead fish.

"…I've got my puppet", she murmured.

"You should still go though. The true power comes from within and that what makes the tamers Digimon so strong. Trouble is they have yet to realise it…nether the less having a Digimon does not make them any more special than you are. You could be just the person to help them learn this…"

Jeri turned to face the little girl who suddenly spoke in a voice that did not match her years. The expression on that young face had aged magnificently and Jeri had the distinct impression that she was talking to a higher being.

"Who are you?"

Keiko smiled warmly at the trembling girl.

"Go in peace…and help your friends…"

Jeri nodded dumbly and started after the others. She didn't look back.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Things were going far from perfect on the grassy battlefield.

Gargomon and Icedevimon were being swatted around like flies by huge hands that belonged to the Skullgreymon occupying a lot of the floor space. Even Henry and Rika's card-swiping actions didn't seem to aid the two champions.

Renamon lay to the side utterly exhausted and being tended to by her tamer, who had succeeded in winding himself up into a state.

"This is all my fault!"

"Oh really Takato? Elaborate!"

"Well I should have trusted you more. Otherwise you would have told me what was bothering you earlier instead of running off…I'm sorry for not being a good friend…"

Renamon's insides gave an unpleasant twist knowing there was no way she could tell him the truth now.

With an enraged roar Skullgreymon launched himself forwards his jaws aiming clumsily towards Rika threatening to divide her into many messy pieces. It seemed he had grown tired of waiting for his dinner.

"Hey leave her alone! You…you…err…whatever you are!"

A young hand fastened around a musty, rotten branch, lying discarded among the grass and gravel. The hand brought it up then they both came down heavily onto a ebony bone in front of them. The sound of branch meeting bone resounded throughout the clearing and all the tamers and their Digimon stared on in awe.

Skullgreymon turned around slowly to face his 'attacker', letting out a menacing growl as he did so.

Jeri froze up, the branch falling out of her loosened grip. She took a step back. Then another.

"Uh-oh!" squealed the puppet.

Jeri yanked the puppet up to her face crossly.

"Shush!" she hissed sounding very un-Jeri-like.

"Jeri hang on!" yelled Takato, frantically motioning for her to run away.

Rika whirled round, eyes burning in their sockets.

"You know this wacko!"

Takato looked at her sadly.

"That's Jeri, she's in my class. She's not a wacko; she's really nice…why are you always like this Rika? You only see the worst in people, not the best!"

Rika snorted.

"Optimist…I hate optimists…"

A scream pierced through their conversation as Jeri was literally swept off her feet by dusty claws curving round her mid section. The terrified girl gave a spasm of horror as she was stared at by unforgiving eyes.

What happened next startled everybody. A beam of highly concentrated light bore directly into the monster making him scream in pain. The light thundered into him forcing his 'fake' atoms to dispense and fade away.

Jeri fell….but was saved by the actions of a speedy Gargomon who ran directly beneath her.

Everyone's head twisted towards the machine that had destroyed the ultimate Digimon. A group of people milled around it looking uncomfortable. Except for one.

A man armed with black sunglasses stared at the odd group before him ignoring the discomfort of his workforce. He raised his silver lighter up to his face and gave a single click.

At once the workers dived forwards and Takato was driven backwards by a mass of stronger, adult bodies. Just as rapidly the people around him disappeared and he was left gasping. He whirled around to see Renamon bound with some kind of grey cord and struggling with what was left of her strength.

Icedevimon and Gargomon found themselves in the middle of a pleading brown gaze. Gargomon immediately sprung into action, setting down Jeri and racing after Renamon and her capturers. Icedevimon paused, growling mentally, feeling appalled at the fact that pity was once more stirring in his heart. These emotions of his were getting worse and once again he hated the lack of control he had over them. With a sigh, he gave Takato a curt nod and glided towards the black-clad men.

Yamaki's tight smile became even more thin-lipped. His lighter clicked again and the machine started to glow ready to open fire on the two Digimon streaming towards it.

Gargomon stopped dead in his tracks being smart enough to know there was no way he could get his bulky form out of the way in time. He lowered his gun-armed arms in a sign of peaceful surrender. Meanwhile Icedevimon hovered overhead wondering if he was fast enough to out manoeuvre the machine's aim.

Yamaki noticed his indecision and his sunglasses shone with a sinister glint. Those shiny surfaces seemed to glare right through the icy Digimon directly in front of them.

"Give me one reason not too…" he hissed in a menacing tone gesturing towards Renamon so no one would be in any doubt into what he was referring to.

"Icedevimon stop! We can't risk it!"

The demon turned his head to gaze to in the direction of his tamer's voice to see her and Henry restraining a violently struggling Takato. Her violet orbs pleaded with him and he read the worry within them clearly; concern for his welfare. Confusion rose in him for a split-second before he dampened it with the respect he held for her.

**"NO!"**

But all Takato could do was watch from his prison of locked arms as he thrashed around violently, watching those **_monsters_** drag away his best friend to God-knows-where. Tears blurred his vision until the arms released him and he fell to the ground clenching tufts of grass as though they were lifelines keeping his soul afloat. And all he could see, long after they had vanished, was a pair of icy blue eyes displaying pure terror.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Renamon regained consciousness and quickly realised she was no longer outside. In fact she was in a lab of some kind…in a large transparent, vertical cylinder…one that represented a test tube…

Coldness crawled in her stomach at the thought of her being an experiment and there was no hesitation as she performed a diamond storm attack on the wall of her prison. Her? An experiment? That she couldn't allow…she had to get home…get back to Takato…

She growled when her fury inspirited attack didn't even create a dent in the smooth wall and launched herself towards it, figuring that maybe a physical assault would work better.

Her reward was a bout of fresh pain.

"Curses!" she hissed, cradling her abused nose in a velvety-soft paw.

She glared hostilely at the glass surrounding her, which seemed to smirk whenever the laboratory lights caught the curved surface.

"Why don't these kind of things happen to Icedevimon?"

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"She's already saved my life twice…now it's my turn to save hers…" trailed off Takato, his eyes stained with the same scarlet that dominated the sky against the sun.

"Ha! I win! My Digimon only had to save my life once!" shrieked Rika, wildly gesturing towards Takato and spoiling the tense emotional moment.

"And I've never had to be saved by Terriermon…so I guess I get the gold medal then!" Henry stated dryly giving Rika an I-don't think-you're-being-very-sensitive glare.

A concerned look settled over Jeri's face as a wave of compassion swept through her heart. The puppet slipped off her fingers and slid into her pocket. The hand then reached up and curved around Takato's left shoulder in a reassuring motion.

"Don't worry Takato, I'm sure you'll get her back", she said quietly.

Meanwhile from behind a tree Keiko observed them all with a knowing smile, a sleeping Calumon wrapped up firmly in her arms. Her gaze lingered on the red triangle on his forehead, still glowing after helping Gargomon reach his champion level.

The girl who was not a girl turned on her heel and swiftly walked away.


	10. To tackle a tower

Okay, first off, thanks for the reviews! Secondly I don't own that wonderful anime we all know of as Digimon! And thirdly, I apologise to anyone who thinks this chapter sucked. I tried. I really did. But there were several things in this chapter that had to be written otherwise the next one would make no sense. I think the reason I'm don't feel particularly confident about it is because Keiko doesn't appear in this one at all so I've made no attempt to explain her presence at all. That's because we learn more about her purpose in the next chapter. Nevertheless, there's no teary reunion in here either. You didn't really think it was gonna be that easy to rescue Renamon now did you? I'm sorry but I consider a chain of events to be very important is a story…otherwise the plot makes no sense. And let's face it; the worst thing that can happen to a story is when it has no plot.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"Argh!"

Renamon felt pain exploding along her limbs. Bruised and battered, she felt her whole body slide to the floor and topple over onto its side.

"Enough!" Yamaki rapped out.

The scientists flicked a few switches and the high voltage of electrical power being pumped into the container holding Renamon dispersed.

Smiling, Yamaki strode over to the prison, watching the shaking form of data. A single blue eye forced itself open and the fox-like creature shivered. The human above her looked so cold and unfeeling, his eyes and emotions locked behind dark sunglasses. At once, hatred for him was born in her heart.

Yamaki turned away, something striking his heart before he dismissed it. The majority of the world's population would have called it pity.

"That…**_thing_**…it actually looked…intelligent…"

# # # # # # # # # # # #

The four children stared at each other intently, their eyes intent and sharpened as they lost themselves in their own ideas.

Icedevimon stood completely motionless as he was occupied in his own thoughts as well. Terriermon on the other hand was looking thoroughly bored, hopping from foot to foot impatiently.

"Geez, will you guys get a plan already? Sometime before we're fifty would be good! I'm just inching for some major butt-whopping over here!"

Icedevimon diverted his full attention onto the little rabbit, smirking as the Digimon immediately quietened down and looked uncomfortable. It would seem that he hadn't lost the ability to unnerve anybody just by looking at them; even if he had failed to retain his control over his emotions.

Henry growled as he felt his concentration slip at his Digimon's remarks. However Terriermon had a different effect on Takato altogether. Determination gripped his features and he straightened up.

"Terriermon's right! How can we just sit here when Renamon could be in danger? More action, less thinking!"

Rika gave the boy an annoyed look.

"And how do you propose we do that when we don't even know where they're taken her, goggle-head?"

Takato slumped down, his eyes as dull and cold as the gravel beneath his feet.

"Oh."

Jeri visibly shivered when she saw the expression on Takato's face. She hated it when people got upset and usually went out of her way to avoid sadness at all costs.

"Why is everybody so unhappy?" she asked her puppet making it shake its head in despair.

"Why is she here anyway? She's not even a tamer!" snapped Rika motioning to Jeri with her head.

"I'm sorry Rika…I'll go if you want me too…"

"No, don't go! I…oh, I don't know…fine! Go!" mused Rika out loud, her face twisted with confusion.

Without a word Jeri got up and began to stumble off, puppet hanging limply at her side. Watching her go was Takato, feeling something stir in his heart. He glared at Rika who lowered her gaze at his accusing look.

"What are you staring at goggle-head?"

Icedevimon sighed shaking his head at his own tamer's foolishness. It looked like he would have to step in again if only to get the warm glint of approval into those purple eyes. He glided up to Jeri's side in instant, feet inches above the ground. He cleared his throat.

"It seems I am in debt to you…Jeri…you saved my tamer almost losing your own life in the process…I want to thank you for that…"

Rika flinched as she heard her Digimon's words, remembering that she had not thanked Jeri for bearing Skullgreymon's wrath on her behalf. The glittering amethysts raised themselves slowly with guilt gleaming in their depths.

"…and I'm sure Rika feels the same way!" finished the ex-angel hoping he had bridged the gap between the two.

Jeri let her eyes wander over to Rika and saw the other girl nod her head slightly. She also noticed a trace of smile was dancing over the tamer's lips, threatening to break into a grin.

"Well…if you want me to stay…" Jeri said shyly unable to prevent an honest smile touching her lips.

"Yes please!" Rika managed.

Positively beaming Jeri slammed down to the ground beside Rika.

"Now let's get back to the task of finding Renamon!" Icedevimon murmured softly into his tamer's ear.

Rika groaned and thrust her head into her hands with a snarl.

"Snowman, remind me why we're helping these losers?"

"Because having a conscience is painful and it gets worse if it is not appeased", Icedevimon growled looking quite mournful as he did so.

Luckily for the disgruntle pair, Takato's D-Power decided that now was the appropriate moment to answer its owner's prayers. All eyes were drawn to the red flashing light and the electrical squealing coming from Takato's pocket.

"It's showing an arrow," frowned Takato as he fished the D-Power out of the grey pants, "but the signal is different to a wild one's…"

"Could it be Renamon?" asked Jeri, worried.

"Well since we don't have any other leads we might as well follow it," shrugged Rika.

"That's what I was afraid of…" sighed Henry.

"Let's go", murmured Takato in a low voice, getting up with his eyes trained on the device in his hand.

With uncertain glances at each other, the rest of the group followed him.

Terriermon looked at Icedevimon curiously remembering what Rika's nickname was for him.

"Snowman?"

"Not a word!" snarled the white demon who was obviously in a very bad mood.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

"What do you want with me?" rasped out a tired voice cracking open the silence in an instant.

Yamaki being the only one in the lab to hear it, spun round startled, effectively masking his surprise. He saw that abomination raising itself up onto shaking legs and staring at him levelly. A strange light danced in her -no, **_it's_**- eyes that inspired a flicker of fear inside him. But in was only for a moment.

"Now why I want to tell that to a mere packet of data?"

The creature drew back as though she been stung, wriggling her nose in disgust. Her hobbling legs gave another jelly-like shiver before she braced herself against the back wall of her prison to straighten up and observe Yamaki at her full height. This behaviour unnerved him as it made him feel as though he was the experiment and she was the superior being.

His hands balled up to form angry fists.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

Renamon said nothing preferring to let her calm gaze sweep over him and hopefully intimidate him. Her logical mind informed her that in order to deal with this new threat she would have to show no fear. If she acted like a snivelling coward the chances were he would lose interest in her more quickly and her demise would be a certainty. Yet at this stage anything was possible and her brain cells were taut prepared to twist any retort he might throw at her and use it to her advantage.

"You know for a human you are quite inhumane."

Yamaki flinched when the creature finally spoke. He had not been expecting her voice to sound so commanding yet soft at the same time, holding wisdom beyond any human understanding. For the first time in a long while Yamaki began to feel uncomfortable.

# # # # # # # # # # #

"So this is the place?" questioned Takato as he stared up at the gigantic towers in awe. He shivered as his vast imagination came into play again and he pictured a large secret organisation filled with thousands of Yamakis conducting experiments too ghastly to talk about. Of course this train of thought led to visions of his Digimon being strapped down to a table and being put through various methods of torture like thumbscrews, and whatever else he could remember from his history textbook. The result of this was a horrified expression becoming glued onto his face.

Noticing this, Jeri and Henry both placed their hands on his shoulders causing Takato to snap out of his trance and see their concerned eyes. He smiled weakly in an unsuccessful attempt to reassure them.

Rika started to reach out to the three of them too but her hand was only halfway there when she blinked and stared at it as though it was a four-eyed fish. She whipped it back to her side and tried to act as though she couldn't care less. Her cheeks turned a faint pink colour when she heard Terriermon snigger which he quickly tried to suppress when Icedevimon's glare forced itself into his vision.

"It'll be alright you know Takato," Henry said gently, "we just have to work out how to get inside without getting…"

"Leave everything to Icedevimon!" interrupted Rika, "somehow I don't think that easter-bunnymon down there is cut out for this kind of work…"

"Hey! I may be small but I can do big things!" hollered Terriermon causing everybody to cover their eyes and groan at the sudden increase in volume.

"Yeah…like giving everybody on the planet a headache…"stated Henry dryly, hanging his head in resignation.

Rika frowned as she rubbed her ears in an effort to get some feeling back into them after Terriermon's outburst. She then gave a meaningful glance in Icedevimon's direction.

Icedevimon stepped in front of the main door and crossed his arms diagonally, scarlet eyes fixed firmly on the door. He concentrated for a few brief seconds and then thrust his arms outwards. At that exact moment a fierce gale of icicles and snow attacked the doors savagely, severely denting them and almost knocking them off their hinges. The wind disappeared taking the snow and ice with it leaving the doors barely standing.

"Wow…strong doors…" remarked Takato to nobody in particular.

"I'll take it from here…" muttered Henry, narrowing his eyes and striding up to the doors, looking more confident than he felt.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

"Are you just going to stare at me all day sunshine?"

Yamaki flinched at the dangerous tone in the monster's voice. He hadn't moved an inch from the first time she spoke. The past few minutes had been spent in silence. The animal (**_'If it could even be called that'_**, thought Yamaki wryly) seemed to have tired of waiting.

Renamon watched the enemy curiously for a reaction. She could already feel anger bubbling under those dark shades.

"You seem to forget…"

Yamaki finally spoke, his voice also soft and deadly, as he approached the container.

"…that I hold the power of life and death over you. Though of course you don't actually live. Not in the same way we do."

Renamon flashed him a bitter smile.

"You remind me of two individuals I know…one also believed that Digimon were nothing but mere data while the other was obsessed by power. You possess both these qualities…"

"I was not aware that I was in need of a shrink…" replied the blonde man coldly.

"I wonder…" mused Renamon aloud folding her arms and directing a thoughtful look in his direction, "if you have become so obsessed in your search for control that you have lost your humanity in the process. You are so focused in your experiments that you see no need for a soul. I wonder if you still have a heart buried away somewhere. You claim Digimon are not sentient. Yet how would you know what it means to be sentient if you can no longer feel?"

A spasm of horror was present on the adult's face for a fleeting second before he turned away.

"I do feel. I have someone!" he choked out.

"Have you ever told her that you love her?" questioned the wise vixen recalling the way he had communicated with one of the female staff earlier on that day. A woman he seemed to have a connection with. Was she the someone he was talking about?

"Riley…" the male gasped confirming Renamon's suspicions.

The Digimon felt all her hate for the man evaporate as a certain gleam of comprehension was born in her eyes.

"You're just like Rika…"

Yamaki glared at her from behind the barrier of sunglasses while his fingers trembled.

"Who do you have then? If you truly are sentient, then who do you have!"

"Takato…"

Yamaki's silver lighter fell to the floor.

# # # # # # # # # # #

The tramp-tramp of trainers meeting tiled floors in deserted corridors echoed throughout the air. Well…not quite deserted. On either side of the strange group were groaning lumps of black-suited men with a few white-coated scientists moaning alongside them. Further up the corridor shouts of 'hi-yah!' and yells of pain could be heard.

"Wow…he's like a machine!" gasped Jeri in awe, brown eyes shiny with wonder.

"And here I was thinking humans were helpless", muttered Icedevimon his expression representing that of a sulking four-year old.

"Guess I got a better human than you then!" snapped Terriermon though a glint of amusement could be detected in his tone. He quickly jumped aside as an angered demon's clawed fingertips swished downwards, missing him by mere millimetres.

"I thought Henry didn't like fighting!" groaned the Digimon Queen closing her eyes in annoyance. She growled irritably when she felt a large movement of air colliding with her and opened her eyes to see another man fly past her.

"Okay! That's the last of the guards on this floor!" came a breathless voice.

Everybody looked up to Henry running back down the passage to them. He paused, panting, before meeting their stares.

"Henry…you never told me you did martial arts", Takato said slowly.

Graphite-coloured eyes attempted to drill a hole into the floor before Henry spoke again.

"I never really use them that much…because I don't want to hurt anybody." Henry's soft voice suddenly hardened. "But these men deserved what they got. They have no respect for life and no tamer should be forcibly separated from their Digimon…not like this…"

"Well that's great and everything but we still have a job to do!" cut in Rika harshly before spinning round and striding over to the map of the building pinned onto one of the walls.

Henry sighed before hearing a soft voice invading his ears.

"Thank you…"

The boy looked up to see Takato smiling faintly at him with his eyes appearing to be very watery.

Henry shrugged before letting a casual smile flutter onto his face.

"Anytime…what else are friends for?"

# # # # # # # # # #

"How can you care about a human? It's not possible!" garbled Yamaki.

Renamon sighed, rubbing her temples with two clawed digits.

"I find that's it is easier not to question these things, just accept them…"

Yamiki smashed a fist into a nearby computer.

"No! It's not good enough! I can't have programs mixing with children! It's not right, it's not normal!"

Renamon backed away slowly until her back was tensely align with the smooth back of her prison. She was startled by this sudden mood swing and viewed him with a certain degree of apprehension.

"It's dangerous!"

The bushy tail bristled and swept air molecules aside in indignation.

"If you honestly think that I would **_ever_** lay a paw on Takato, or any other innocent for that matter, then you've-"

"Whoever said anything about you attacking people!" retorted Yamaki, the glare of the lights dancing on his sunglasses.

Renamon stared at him, astonished.

"It's because of Digimon like you that children charge thoughtlessly into digital fields when they form, without any regard to safety. As you've no doubt noticed, the wild ones are becoming more powerful over time, too powerful. And you can't defeat them. If they delete you what then? Who's going to prevent your tamer from becoming their target?"

The kitsune's eyes bulged at this prospect. As much as she hated to admit it, Yamaki did have a valid point. She stared at the sneering blond, speechless.

For once Renamon did not have an answer.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Unknown to the troubled fox, the rescue party were on the eleventh floor, only a single floor below her. Rika had scanned the map and discovered that the laboratories where the 'live' experiments took place were situated on the eleventh and twelfth floor. And as the arrogant girl had pointed out Renamon would be involved in a 'live' experiment; why else would she have been taken if not serve the purpose of a guinea-pig?

"Remind me why we didn't take the elevator…" groaned Takato stumbling down the corridor, massaging his screaming limbs as he did so.

"Because Icedevimon wouldn't have fit in, he's too tall!" Rika replied promptly.

Takato stared.

"Couldn't he have done that teleporting trick?"

Rika flushed but Henry, ever the peacemaker, stepped in.

"Takato, somehow I don't think the elevator would have been able to fit us all in!"

Takato blinked before dropping his head.

"Point taken…"

Another awkward silence broke out among the group and they continued to thump out their dull footsteps against the floor.

"You would have thought that they would have guarded the place better!" Rika finally grumbled in frustration.

"Hey guys…shouldn't we checking some of these labs?" questioned Takato anxiously.

"Okay!" chirped out Jeri brightly. And before anybody could stop her she darted up to the nearest door, swung it open and walked through. Unfortunately this innocent action activated the automatic locking system and the door clamped shut behind her.

"Jeri" cried the three humans in unison all rushing to the door and fruitlessly trying to prise it open. Yet the might of fingernails, idle threats and the combated physical strength of three children were not enough to beat the highly sophisticated, computer controlled lock.

Lilac orbs flashed to Icedevimon, burning through to his core. It was a silent command to help.

"Stand back!" he announced grandly.

Hazelnut shaded eyes flared with panic as Jeri beat against the door until her knuckles were raw and blistered. Eventually she sunk to the floor, sniffing and silently hating herself.

"Stupid Jeri…I'm holding them all up…now they'll never find Renamon and it'll all be my fault!" she shouted pounding her abused fist into the floor.

She sat up.

"I should have never have come, they would have been better off without me…Now they hate me…" she finished off mournfully.

She began to take an interest in her surroundings. And then she saw it.

Jeri stared up at the cloudy figure in awe. In was veiled up in a huge glass cylinder and shrouded in bubbles. Some sort of liquid covered the form completely.

Curiously, the girl approached the container with a fair amount of trepidation and carefully pressed the palm of her hand against the cool surface. She peered at the still body, screwing up her eyes so that she could distinguish details better in the poor light.

A clawed hand moved.

Jeri froze.

It travelled towards her much smaller hand.

Jeri's other hand crawled up the wall next to her and fumbled around for a light switch.

The creature's hand hovered on the other side for a few moments before coming to rest over the human palm. Only the strange material separated the two hands from meeting.

Sweat plastered over her forehead; Jeri's hand finally located the switch and closed over it.

The paw pressed against the barrier. A small crack appeared.

The lights flashed on.

"It's Leomon…oh God…" gasped Jeri.

The beast roared, the mane framing his face waving around wildly.

Fighting down a scream, the girl skittered back into the shadows, flinging her body behind a nearby desk. Shivering violently, she brought her knees up to her face and clutched them blindingly.

"Please God…don't let him get me…make him go away…" she whimpered, flinching as she heard the sharp sounds of a cracking prison, enraged snarling and the sploosh of liquid as it burst free of it's restricting dam. It swept out and bathed the marbled floor with a shimmering movement.

Leomon shook his head to free his ears of that damned liquid and became aware of a child's hitched breathing. A terrified child's breathing. Naturally, he sought out the source of the noise.

His height easily enabled him to peer over the desk and see a small girl tucked away behind it. A young brunette who also happened to be caught in some sort of spasm.

Leomon frowned as he detected her scent. It was overflowing with kindness and fear. Such a gentle soul as the one before him could not have been responsible for his imprisonment surely? No, he decided quickly and firmly that she had no connection with the humans that had locked him away. For a start she wore none of the white clothing that his capturers sported when observing him. And he sincerely doubted that a child would be allowed in a horrific place like this without adult supervision. Besides, his nose had never let him down before.

It took him far too long to realise he was responsible for her fear as he leant towards her and saw her quaking more ferociously. He couldn't help but flinch when that quivering gaze met his fearfully and when that withdrawn face tilted itself upwards to view him properly.

"Please don't hurt me!" it squeaked.

The lion mentally kicked himself for exiting the container so dramatically and terrifying the poor girl out of her wits. But then again, how was he to know that he would not be confronted with guns and scientists but with a defenceless innocent?

# # # # # # # # # # #

Two boys stared at the computer screen in a darkened room, their breathing harsh, ragged and excited. The picture on the LCD unit was a clip from a security camera which they were absolutely enraptured with. The colours danced over their quaking bodies.

"I don't believe it…real Digimon…and real Digimon tamers!" breathed one of them.

"Believe it…wait, wasn't that Takato? And Jeri? And that kid down there looked like Henry? Holy cow, is that the Digimon Queen?!? No freaking way man!"

"Incredible…now what?"

"What do you mean, 'now what'? We go and talk to them of course! Find out more…"

A gleam came into the shorter boy's eyes.

"Wow…"

The taller rolled his eyes.

There was a slight pause.

"Hey Kazu?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time I say I don't think it's a good idea to hack into the computer system of two creepy towers just ignore me alright?"

The other sported an impish grin before shaking his head pityingly.

"Kenta man, I've been ignoring you since the day you were born…it's taken you this long to figure it out?"

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Jeri stared incredulously at the great beast to her left. He had moved round the corners of her hiding place and had crouched down so that he was closer to her level. He was within easy paw-swiping distance of her yet he had made no move to attack her. The king of the jungle merely stared at her.

A few more frantic heartbeats passed before their hurried motion stared to cease as curiosity swept over Jeri.

"Aren't you going to eat me?" she blurted out bluntly.

Leomon gave a very cat-like smirk.

"No, not today kid."

"Oh…well, when?"

"Not until after infinity."

A few more heartbeats passed by, their fast and fearful drumming decreasing into a much slower and steadier rate.

"Oh…that's a long time…"

An awaked silence elapsed between the two. Once again it was Jeri who torn it apart.

"So how come you were the incredible Hulk a few minutes ago and now you're the perfect gentleman now?"

The larger body shifted his position so that he was more comfortable, uttering a heavy sigh as he did so.

"A true warrior would never strike down a defenceless little girl…besides you were not responsible for holding me captive…were you?"

Jeri fidgeted as she thrust under the eagle-sharp gaze of the bronze Digimon.

"No, of course not! In fact me and my friends came here to rescue Renamon…she got kidnapped by these horrible people…"

Jeri paused as her eyes traced the outline of the sword fastened to Leomon's side. She noted how his paw was subconsciously stroking the sides with a practised ease. And then she suddenly struck with an idea.

"Hey! You could help!"

Leomon almost dropped his weapon.

"What?"

"You're a warrior right? You help those who need your help right? Then you could help us! My friend Takato is very close to Renamon and he misses her a lot…and we have no idea what they're doing to her. If you're as noble as you appear to be, you'll help!"

The lion blinked. Then he smiled warmly.

"You have a good heart…"

Jeri blushed and glanced down to her trainers.

"I'm nothing special…" she whispered.

"I disagree," said Leomon firmly, stretching out, back onto his feet, "now let's get out of here!"

He paused.

"Umm…what's your name kid?" he asked sheepishly.

"Jeri!" the girl burst out eagerly, "this is so exciting!"

Leomon's face creased up into a frown as he readied himself to punch the lock into history.

"This could be dangerous…you should properly get out of the building…in fact I insist on it!"

"But Rika said I could come…"

"Then she's very irresponsible…"

"But I wanna come!" sniffed Jeri her eyes becoming suspiciously shiny.

Leomon watched warily.

Then Jeri committed one of the most horrible acts in the history of mankind…and digimonkind for that matter. A deed so evil that only the sweetest people can pull it off perfectly.

The puppy dog eyes.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Everyone stared at the door in disbelief. Even the efforts of Terriermon and Icedevimon had been unsuccessful and the door was still standing, smirking as the light made it gleam maliciously.

"What we really need is the lock on this side so that we can smash it and then it would be easy to force the door open!" Henry stated thoughtfully, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

"Yeah, well it isn't, so I guess we'll have to improvise!" Rika sneered, trying to hide her concern for Jeri by lashing out at anything that annoyed her.

"Maybe Jeri could find something to destroy the lock on the other side?" suggested Takato.

Henry frowned, shaking his head and dismissing Takato's hopes.

"I doubt she would be strong enough to do that. Anyway how would we communicate that idea across to her? We've been yelling to her for the past ten minutes and we haven't had a response yet."

Takato hardened his jaw, grinding his teeth together.

"I am not going to lose another friend to this creepy organisation!"

Henry cast a worried glance in the brunette's direction.

Before the conversation could become too heated or emotional, the door exploded. The two boys and Terriermon jumped back in shock while Rika shrieked. A white wing curved around her to protect her from the metal fragments as Icedevimon hurried forwards. His other wing swept round ridding the scene of dust that rose from the earthbound door.

There, a positive beam stretched across her face, was Jeri. Kneeling beside her was a heavily muscular Digimon that reeked of battle awareness.

Jeri stepped out, motioning for Leomon to come forwards.

"Hi guys! This is Leomon and he says he's gonna help us find Renamon. He was trapped by those nasty people too, so he's defiantly on our side! Isn't that great!"

For a moment silence reined supreme in the narrow corridor. Then there was a loud squeal being emitted from Rika's mouth and she ran forwards and enclosed Jeri's neck in her arms.

"Jeri! You're alright! Thank goodness!"

Icedevimon cleared his throat for the second time that day.

"Nevertheless, I'm not sure whoever we can trust this stranger…"

"No, you can, you can!" protested Jeri, pausing briefly before switching on the puppy dog eyes.

"Please?"

Leomon choked and averted his eyes straight away before he could get sucked in again.

Rika snorted and pulled back from her friend, contempt clearly written on her features.

"Yeah, like that circus trick is gonna work!"

Terriermon sniggered.

"Okay, Leomon can come with us," said Icedevimon in a voice like a zombie.

Rika's eyes widened before she turned back to Jeri.

"You have to teach me how to do that!"


	11. Of discoveries and Mr Jello

Dear God, I finally updated….please don't kill me…I have, ah, issues and they get worse when I'm dead. Err, did you guys just see me type something very very stupid indeed or was that just me? I would give out 150 reasons for being the worse updater in the world but quite frankly, that'll be immensely boring and fill up the chapter, leaving no room for the story….and as a result you would all hank me to ribbons which your sharp, pointy keyboards. And, um, I like being alive. It's in my best interests.

Hence begins chapter filler…or at least the chapter preparing you for the next chapter filled with carnage and chaos! (which I am still writing and no I am not saying that out of complete irrational fear for my existence, whatever gave you that idea?)

Ohh lookie, fanfiction net actually invented a page divider thing after months of refusing to allow people to invent their own with various symbols! Me likey!

A side note to the one known as Dragon and Sword Master: You've probably given up hope of me still being alive yet I would be interested in what sort of challenge fic you had in mind. Yep, you've engaged my interest…

Dudes! Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! I'm sure all of you are well aware of how much they mean to each and every fanfic writer out and so I wish you a happy reading! If you despise this chapter, feel free to flame me at all costs!

Phew, I do believe we have reached the end of the totally boring author's notes…(Mute opens mouth)…YES WE HAVE! Admit it, that part in brackets scared you.

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the clouds to create a dappled pattern of light on the ground below. The areas of light warmed the areas of earth - or concrete - they were scattered over in their usual amiable way.

Two sets of trainers drummed over these patterns thoughtlessly. A faint breeze awoke and caused the earthbound shapes to distort; as thought they were expressing their indignation at being run over so carelessly.

Kazu spared a glance over his shoulder to check on his friend's progress and heaved out an irritable sigh. Kenta trailed a fair distance behind him, cheeks puffed up to impossible sizes to retain the little oxygen he could get. Kenta it would seem, was not build to be an athlete.

"Come on slowpoke! The action will have been over by the time we get there!" whined Kazu, relectually jogging on the spot in order to let the shorter boy catch up. And he did although his companion was far from satisfied at the time it took for him to do so.

"S-sorry!" managed Kenta before collapsing into a living ball of clothing and glasses at Kazu's feet.

Said boy observed his former running partner in disbelief.

"You're pathetic!" he huffed.

A groan was the only reply he received from the 'ball' who was now attempting to hug his ankles.

"Wait! Kenta you'll make me - ah!"

The next second Kazu found himself joining a sniggering Kenta on the pavement. Luckily he hadn't hit the actual pavement, a cushion that went by the name of Kenta had prevented that.

Kazu raised his head tiredly and lifted a cocky eyebrow.

"Oookay…no offence Kenta but this looks really wrong..."

0000000000000000000000000

"Are you sure Renamon's in there!" whispered Takato urgently, crouched at the beast king's side.

The great lion inclined his head impassively.

"I'm certain!" he replied, the softness in his voice mirroring Takato's.

"Plus the fact it's the only lab on this floor we haven't checked yet!" remarked Rika dryly, rapping her foot against the floor in an irritated manner. Boredom was sailing onto her face as she spoke and she made no effort to conceal her voice in a whisper.

"Shhh!" everyone hissed at her in unison…with the exception of Icedevimon who tapped on the door sharply with his knuckles, ignoring the peculiar spasm racing across Takato's face as he did so.

"The room's soundproof," he announced grandly, "obviously to ensure the people inside are not disturbed in their research."

A light shone in his partner's eyes as she felt the warrior within her leap up and her hand twitched as though longing to clasp some battle cards.

"Then let's crash this science lesson…" she growled softly.

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000

"Well I don't see your organisation having much luck at destroying these wild ones…of course you would argue that you have that machine that destroyed Skullgreymon with you, but how long will it be before a Digimon emerges that's strong enough to crush your new toy? And where have you been beforehand? You've never come rushing to our aid before! You've let children fight your battles until you were ready to strike!"

The long awaited answer to Yamaki's statement was flung back at him, heavy with contempt.

The adult clenched his jaw together tightly and hardened his knuckles into taut fists.

"It wasn't like that! My superiors were stingy with the funding until we showed them what Devimon almost did to that boy you proclaim to be so fond of! Not to mention how he almost succeeded in the brutal slaughter of that girl!"

Renamon felt sickness flood the pit of her stomach in an overwhelming wave, burring itself maliciously into the pale lining.

"You…spied on us?" she gasped in a chocked whisper, sounding utterly horrified.

Yamaki shrugged.

"It had to be done. We had to know what we were dealing with."

"How long has this been going on for?"

"That was the only time we filmed one of your 'battles'. For all your sharp senses you were unable to detect one of our men trailing you with a camera."

Renamon felt tempted to say she had been a bit preoccupied at the time with the startling events that had taken place there but wisely held her tongue.

"And to think it was all by mere chance! If an old acquaintance of mine hadn't phoned me up after you leapt over his car we would never have gathered the footage we required to convince my superiors that we were following a worthwhile cause!"

"You knew…" the kitsune intoned in wonderment, "you knew and you didn't do anything…" Now her words hardened dramatically. "You knew that my tamer was in the grasp of a power hungry manic and you sat by and did nothing! He could have died! And did you make a move to save Rika? No! You made no endeavour to prevent loss of life! That is unforgivable!"

Yamaki's mouth worked for a couple of seconds before a cynical smile hovered over his lips as he saw fear momentarily sweep over her eyes.

"Ah, so you are frightened…" he intoned, an unfamiliar cocky accent slipping into his voice.

"Yes, but not for the reasons you might think!" Renamon muttered darkly, her ears twitching as she sensed Takato's presence from outside the room. She closed her eyes and breathed in heavily, counting under her breath.

"4...3...2...1..."

Sharp tears of metal ripped through the air, destruction vibrating within the lab and the door exploded inwardly.

"Sometimes I hate being telepathic", sighed the fox, narrowing her ice-blue eyes as they traced the violent movement of the former 'door' as it hurtled towards her and her prison.

The container shattered on impact but Renamon was more than ready. She rolled forwards, hind limbs tucked neatly underneath her tail so she resembled a rubber ball. The tip of her left ear barely brushed against the moving object and then she tasted freedom. Straightening up she observed the strange group before her with no trace of surprise, her eyes widening only when passing over Leomon or taking in the D-Power held by Jeri.

"Renamon?" Takato started, finally finding his vocal cords but struggling for the right words to stress how sorry he was for…well, _**everything.**_

"I've only one thing to say to you Takato," stated Renamon, her clear voice cutting across the room to his ear drums, "you had better not say sorry or be feeling bad about any of this or you will discover the imprints of teeth marks in those goggles of yours."

The boy grinned awkwardly before swallowing the guilt that was beating through his soul.

"Did they torture you?" he questioned timidly as he began to reach for her.

"Right!" the yellow fox snapped as she rushed towards him with no warning

Takato's eyes flashed red fire.

_**"What?"**_

"No, I mean _**right**_!"

"Huh?"

Icedevimon made an impatient noise before curving an icy claw around Takato's mid-section and yanking him to his right. The human had scarcely time to blink before the bullet smashed through the space he had been occupying barely a second before. His eyes instantly widened.

"Holy cow!"

Then snow-dipped paws were gripping his shirt and twisting him round to face a pair of worried blue eyes.

"Are you alright Takato?"

The boy nodded, not trusting himself to speak

"I'm touching you…I thought…you…they might…"

And without another word he embraced his friend and buried his face into her fur, soft as always. The taller froze before smiling warmly and pulling him further into her arms.

"Down!" snarled Icedevimon seizing Rika.

Digimon dragged humans behind desks, chairs, anywhere that provided shelter from the clatter of bullets that rained overhead. Beyond the gunfire Yamaki could be heard screaming.

Eventually the vicious pounding of sound ceased and Jeri raised her head. Her fingers clasped themselves over her mouth as she squeaked.

"Oh my goodness!"

Everyone followed her lead and turned the eyes in the direction she was facing. There stood Yamaki gun in hand with fear etched firmly in every facial muscle. Sweat dripped off his brow and he was wheezing painfully as though fighting off a professional wrestler. To complete the scene a tendril of inky blackness was intertwined around the circumfererence of his arm.

"Getoutofhere!" he choked out.

He broke off before letting out another scream as the darkness squeezed his finger against the trigger forcibly, almost gleefully.

"Oh hell…" muttered Rika.

"…This can't be good…" finished off Icedevimon for her.

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"Ow! Kenta! That's my foot you're killing!"

"Well, tell your arm to quit poking my eye then! You're ruining my face!"

"What face?"

"Huh! Just because you're jealous of my sex appeal doesn't mean-"

"Excuse me, you do realise you've both been blocking the pavement for the past ten minutes!"

The two boys peered up into the harsh sunlight, blinking rapidly, as a new voice entered the fray.

"Oh, it's just a girl…"

"See! I've done you a favour by hurting your face!"

"Huh?"

"Well she hasn't run away screaming yet, has she? 'Cause that's what most girls do anyway…"

"Hey!"

Keiko had to work hard to suppress the snigger rising in her throat. The boys looked like they were playing an elaborated game of twister on the concrete ground. Not to mention the fact their petty arguments did nothing much to help quell her new-found humour.

"Oh great, more human pups! Bada-boom!"

A miniature flaming comet flew with cunning procession towards Kazu's head. It was truly spectacular to see how quickly he reacted. With Kenta's legs still hooked around his back he sprung into the bushes like a frightened zebra dragging his surprised friend with him.

Keiko turned to face the small purple digimon.

"Not that I want a fireball in the face or anything but can you just not be annoying for the next five minutes?"

"Sorry toots, I don't take orders from no stinkin' human!" scowled Impmon, balancing another fireball on his stubbed fingertip.

Keiko almost laughed at the irony of it all.

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"Sooooo…anyone got any bright ideas?" asked Henry in his usual quiet manner.

An unhelpful silence greeted his statement as everyone continued to stare at a ranting Yamaki whose lighter had long since been lost on the floor. The whole of the man's right arm was now encased in the black substance where it bubbled mercilessly, taking no notice of it's host's futile attempts to rip it off. His tearing fingernails dove into the darkness violently but simply bounced off it as though it was jelly.

"Get…off!" the blond managed grunting between each twist and pull.

"What is that thing anyway?" questioned Rika, wrinkling up her pale nose with disgust.

"I have not got the faintest idea Rika," murmured Renamon, tightening her grip on Takato who promptly squirmed in retaliation.

"Ow! Renamon! I kinda need my collarbone you know!"

"Fine! If you guys won't tell me I'll find out for myself!" muttered Rika, storming over to the quaking adult, determination highlighting her features.

Bloodshot eyes on a chalk-white face widened as the ex-angel let out a screech.

"Rika! What are you doing!"

The girl didn't bother answering as she strode towards Yamaki, fingers outstretched and ready to rip off the squirming goo. The man in question yelped and ducked away from her aiding limbs.

"Stay still!" she growled commandingly, attempting to reach out for him again.

Yamaki shook his head violently, blond strands of hair dancing into his vision.

"Nooo! You don't understand! You're just a child! It'll get you too!"

"I'd like to see it try!" commented Rika seriously and with a certain amount of vindivousive.

Her lilac eyes crackled with electricity as she darted forwards nimbly, catching Yamaki off-guard. He let out yet another startled yelp and a well-polished shoe flashed out. It caught Rika sharply in the stomach and promptly sent her reeling onto the floor backwards.

Icedevimon released a deep bellow and rushed forward, scooping her up with a cradle of icy fingers. He looked up, his burning stare striking Yamaki venomously.

"Get off! Jeez, It's not like I've broken anything!" cried the ensnared girl.

"He kicked you."

"No kidding Sherlock. But your body temperature is making my spine go numb!"

"…..Ah. Yet I believe that the cold was like a painkiller for the body? It stops the pain sensors from functioning properly?"

"Other things won't be functioning properly either if this continues, like my legs! Then you'll have to carry me everywhere, Snowman. That should help you keep up your evil reputation, huh, acting like a walking wheelchair! So getoffmenow!" the ex-angel's little tamer pronounced angrily, practically thrashing his chest with her fists now.

"Ahh!"

Everyone reset their stares onto Yamaki as he cried out in alarm. The black 'goop' was still wrapped around his arm but now it was straining towards Rika - or at least in the general direction of the group.

"I-I can't hold it back forever!" puffed Yamaki. Despite the situation he managed a wry grin, "I think it dislikes you even more than I do!"

Nobody noticed it but the eyes of Icedevimon hollowed out as realisation struck. His head whipped round suddenly, horns and all.

"Did anyone of us remember to absorb Devimon's data after I deleted him?" he questioned harshly.

His statement was greeted by a multitude of blank stares. He sighed deeply, rustling his solid wings restlessly. Rika glanced up sharply as soon as she heard the awkward noise, knowing it to be a signal of his unease.

"What of it?" she demanded, "once a digimon's deleted, it's gone!"

Icedevimon's lips tightened and became vice-like in apperance.

"That is usually the case with most digimon…"he ruminated grandly, "…however with some they have strange powers that manages to cheat death if they are not absorbed into the data frame of another digimon."

Rika gaze was hard and steady, but even her cold mask, honed by years of practise couldn't prevent worry breaking out against her forehead.

"What does that mean Snowman?"

Her partner stared at Yamaki apprehensively as the blond let out another screech.

"It means, angel, that things just got a lot more complicated…"

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"It's soooooo pretty…"

"It's beautiful…"

Kenta and Kazu stared at the moving object with undisguised awe while Impmon repeatly thumped his head into raised scarlet fists again and again. He finally looked up and sighed at the dumb-struck look on their faces and peered over at Keiko who was holding the object of interest in her hand and waving it in front of them, hypnotically, from right to left.

"Can I…touch it?" whispered Kazu as his arm began to tentivly uncurl and reach up for it.

Keiko whisked the blue card away before fixing a business -like look on her face.

"No."

The expression on the two boy's transfixed faces shattered and their eyebrows crashed into each other as though a hundred Titanics were colliding with serval icebergs at once.

"Aww…I think you just broke their paper-mashie hearts," commented Impmon with a stony-faced expression.

Keiko shrugged.

"They'll get over it if they want to carry out a mission of vital importance."

The rivers that had been spewing out of the boys eyes instantly dried up as eager expressions clambered over their faces.

"A mission? As in a secret mission? Like spy stuff?" questioned Kenta in an excitable manner.

"Err…sure…you have to take this card to the tamers…" Keiko stated nervously.

"Alright, baby, I'm you're man!" cheered Kazu waving his fist in the air for no apparent reason.

Impmon smirked at Keiko's obvious discomfort, feeling mirth bubbling in his stomach.

"So…I guess they are going to touch the card after all huh?"

The girl started at the contemptuous tone and turned to stare wildly at the amused imp.

"I may have been a little hasty in thinking this through," she confided to him in a hushed whisper.

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"But what kind of digimon would have the kind of power to cling on existence even after deletion?" Henry asked the floor, grinding his chin into the cup of his hand in a thoughtful gesture.

"Devi…equals…devil", Icedevimon tasted the words on his tongue with bitterness, "don't these words ring a bell in any of your primitive, premature monkey brains?"

"That's rich, coming from someone whose grandma was comprised of ones and zeros!" muttered Henry, a tired look sailing into his eyes.

"Hey! Leave my grandma out of this!" shot back Icedevimon, unfurling one icy fist with a decisive crack.

Rika rolled her eyes in a melodramic fashion. "Ooooookay, this is so not issue right now!"

While the volume of the biological dispute rose and fell, Takato and Renamon were cautiously making their way across the gleaming tiles towards Yamaki. By making their way it meant Renamon taking the lead by force and becoming the equilalant of a walking barricade, one arm yawning across Takato's face and seriously impairing his vision. Though Takato appreciated that it was part of her protective nature to act like this, he was getting a little fed up. Needless to say he protested…and discovered that Renamon had conveniently become deaf within the last few minutes. And so he reverted back to the time-honoured tradition of sulking.

"Takato, do we have to do this?" hissed the kitsune, fixing a particularly poisonous glare on the inky blackness.

"If we don't who will?" the goggle-clad one stated grimly before continuing in a lighter tone, "unless you want to insult my hairy ancestors?"

"As if I would engage in such an immature bicker by stooping to Icedevimon's level" huffed Renamon, a smile flickering on her face before dying out like a candle in the wind.

Takato froze suddenly, tugging on her purple glove urgently as he noticed something.

"Look!" he hissed, "that thing's moving!"

The 'thing' crept over Yamaki's lips, ensnaring them with it's slimy hold and causing the man's eyes to flare up with wild panic. He struggled hopelessly against it for a few moments before he suddenly realised that he could still breathe through the horrid substance and wasn't suffocating. His brain worked furiously trying to come up with a logical scientific explanation before his lips began opening of their own accord. He froze as he felt the darkness pressing against his mouth, sticky and bitter, before pushing it's way inside of it and gripping his tongue and forcing it to move. It brushed against his teeth, stimulating his vocal chords to produce sound waves which then emerged as speech. Yamaki concentrated on what the blackness was forcing him to say with ultimate precision.

_**"I am going to take great delight in throwing your body parts to the infernos of Digi-hell!"**_ it screamed in the manner of a raving lunatic who just discovered that the garden gnome has taken his pet turtle away for questioning.

"Yep", sighed Takato, "that's defiantly Devimon. Trust me, you never forget the voice of someone who threatens to decapitate you."

Yamaki's head twisted round at a unnatural angle.

"Oh, it's you", the head remarked emotionlessly.

Takato bristled slightly before Henry's melodic tone drifted across the room.

"How are we meant to get rid of Devimon without hurting Yamaki?"

"Oh, I really don't think you have time for that", Yamaki's mouth retorted with no small amount of maniacal glee.

Rika's face harded.

"And why not Mr Jello?"

Yamaki inwardly flinched as the 'jelly' hardened round his mouth, forcing his lips upwards into a pitiless sneer.

"Digital field at new fashion studios. Mummy go bye-bye."

Rika stared at mouth, uncomprehending what it had just uttered. Then realisation kicked into her brain heavily and her vision swarm alarmingly.

"You p-pig!" she managed to gasp before unceremoniously spiriting out of the room.

Erm…did I miss something," asked Jeri in a clueless manner.

Yamaki was sure if his parasite had eyes they would be rolling in their sockets.

"Her mother is Rumiko Nonaka, the famous fashion model-"

Yamaki's lips were suddenly interrupted by an excited squeal from the girl.

"You're kidding! She's like my idol! Ihave to get an autograph!" she exclaimed with stars dancing in her eyes.

Yamaki's vocal cords let out a rippling groan.

"Stupid humans! I've arranged a little surprise for everybody at the new fashion show…what an unfortunate cocidence that the little ice queen's mother happens to be there…but you know what the best part is? There's going to be a whole camera crew, reporters, TV coverage, the wholes, everything. I'm going to shake up this whole city and then watch the chaos flow."

It was all Icedevimon could do to prevent himself raking his claws diagonally through Yamaki's chest. Shaking with barely-contained rage he disappeared, fading out alongside the unearthly tit of the labouraty walls.

Everybody else stared at one another in the passing of precious seconds.

"What are we gonna do?" whispered Jeri her eyes fazing over as the full implications hit her and her face paled into a stinging shade of white, "we can't live Yamaki alone like this!"

She gestured helplessly at the man in question while Leomon fixed a gentle look upon her.

"Jeri…" he started gravely, "many more human lives are at stake down at the agency. Would you have them die in order to save a man who wishes some of your friends dead? Sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to benefit the majority."

Jeri said nothing, merely staring down at the ground. Her fists balled up at her sides as an unpleasant image of her mother swam into her blurred mental vision. A mother who shall be warm, tender, loving, smiling just the way she was when Jeri was very small. But in Jeri's head all she could see was a woman on her death bed so kindly provided by the hospital, buckling under the stabbing discomfort of pain that no one could free her from…

Jeri had never even stroked her hand. How could she? She was too small, too young to fully understand what was happening. But now she did. And that was her main reason for firmly believing in the value of human life. Those people would be saved…but not by her.

"You guys go ahead without me. You'll be fine. Rika needs all the help she can get and I need to help Yamaki. Someone has to."

She hardly registered her own voice. But everybody else did. And the effect was magnetic. Somehow they just knew. Knew that she could or would do this. Even if she didn't succeed. But she would try, just like they would.

Takato was the only one who hesitated at the doorframe as they passed it before Leoman gave him a reassuring nod. Takato gave a wavering smile. Just a little one. Then he was gone.

And with Leomon by her side, Jeri raised her brave eyes, wrapped and veiled up in a swarm of emotion. Up, up to gaze upon the blonde man's face that was contoured by the same sort of agony that had been inflicted on her parent years before…

* * *

Update: You know, it's funny, in a completely soul-crushing way of course. I once told my friend that I would complete this story no matter what. I was young and naive and about thirteen/fourteen years old at the time. Not that things like this can be excused with age...but as time drifted by I found myself unwilling to write more. I liked the universe I had created just fine. But the characters seemed stale and sometimes, and when I read over my work, it seemed pretentious. And reading the author's notes gives me brain-freeze. I have however, kept one promise to myself. I vowed that unlike a few other people on this site, I would never delete any of my work, no matter how embarrassing I felt it was. I think it's important to see just how bad you are when you begin something and how you've grown since then. Even if you don't finish something...it that case I think it's important to keep something like this up in order to remind myself of my failure. Both to myself and the people who read this. Like a hall of shame.

It's taught me one thing though. The sheer effort needed to complete a story longer than your traditional one-shot. And it's served me well. I've started work on my own fiction over the years and seemed to have been better prepared for it as a result. One of these I have actually managed to complete and re-edit and it's considerably longer than this piece. And I've also started about six other works, all in various stages of production, but as a result my confidence in being able to finish them is heightened.

So yes, although this story turned out to be a disappointment, I don't think I was wrong to attempt it. I was wrong to show it to the world maybe. But it's gonna stay here, no matter how much I dislike it now, perhaps in the hope that some other people might derive enjoyment from it. I myself have managed to enjoy other never-to-completed works on this site and have sometimes returned to re-read them, despite their unfinished status because of how they were written. But then I'm one of those weirdoes who enjoys the 'journey' in writing, sometimes even more so than the 'end'.

Thank you, to anyone who read this story and allowed it to make them feel something. And I'm sorry that I ended up hating it enough to discontinue. Maybe you'll never reread it and maybe you will. But that won't detract from your first reading experience. As long as it made you feel something or enjoy something...well, I like to think that there is some innate value in that.

And if I ever write some fanfic that is more than one chapter long...next time I'll write out every single chapter before I start posting. That way no one will be disappointed. It's only recently that I've gathered up the courage to write this out. Heavens knows why. I guess I have a horrible habit of running from my problems instead of facing up to them.

So I guess the final and most important thing to say is 'thank you'. 'Sorry'. And possibly 'goodbye.'


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